I'll Be Your Light
by CrystalRainstorm
Summary: Iva, a girl of 15, is thrown into chaos when her home gets attacked by Heartless. Lost and alone, she latches on to the only other person near her - Riku. Can she help save him from destroying himself? What happens when he's gone? And how will Iva manage on her own? In progress, will most likely be in multiple parts.
1. Chapter 1

**I'll Be Your Light: Re-Write**

 **Chapter One: A Not-So-Normal Day**

"C'mon, Iva! You can do it! Just a little farther!"

I pushed my legs to their limits. My breath came in ragged gasps, my arms pumped at my sides powerfully, and after what seemed like an eternity, I dashed through the white tape. Cheers erupted from around me, but they seemed strangely muffled to my ears thanks to the blood rushing through my head. I nearly ran into Dylan as I slowed down; he put his hands on my shoulders to steady me. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath, and I could feel my heart pounding quickly. Running races always did that to me – the adrenaline pushed me to my limits, and I loved it (so did the track team coach).

"Iva, you did it! You won!" Dylan said eagerly. I smiled weakly; I was still too exhausted to say much. Dylan seemed to understand my silence, as he started pushing me gently away from the crowd. Other girls from my team congratulated me, and I could see the coach accepting a trophy for me with a grin on her face. Slowly, the sound of the blood rushing in my ears quieted down, and my heartbeat went back to normal. I took deeper breaths as I stopped and sat on a bench; I noticed that we were now in the Sandlot, and there was no one else in sight. Dylan sat beside me.

"You were great out there. How do you do it?" He asked.

"You know the answer to that. Practice, practice, and more practice." He had asked this question after every race that I had won – which was most of them. I found it slightly amusing, and he knew it, which was why he still asked it. My ego liked this question, too – it made me feel like I was better than I really was.

Dylan laughed lightly and patted my sweaty shoulder. "Eew, you're all sweaty!" he joked, wiping his hand on his jeans. I gave him a fake glare and flipped him off. "When and where, sweet heart?"

I hit his arm lightly, a small smile playing across my lips. "Don't call me that."

Dylan grinned. "You know you like it."

"Not really." I stood and stretched, bending down to touch my toes. I could feel the pull on my muscles and sighed; it always felt good to stretch after a long race. Dylan swatted at my ponytail.

"If I were gay, I would _totally_ be jealous of your hair, Iva. It's such a pretty golden blonde."

"Dylan, YOU have blond hair – even if your hairline DOES recede like the tides."

"It does not!" he cried indignantly, tickling my side. I squealed and jumped away, swatting at his hand.

"Don't do that! You know I hate being tickled!"

"Then don't say that my hairline recedes like the tides!"

"But it _does_ -" Dylan cut me off by pouncing on me and tickling me. I burst into a fit of giggles, trying to squirm my way away from him. "Dylan, ahaha, st-stop it!" He didn't relent until I was completely breathless; I thought perhaps that I had just gotten more of a workout than I had while running the race. I lay on the ground, panting and still laughing.

Dylan rolled onto his back beside me, staring up at the clear blue sky. "You know, one of these days, Twilight Town is going to declare you some sort of superhero. I mean, how many people have won as many races as you have?"

"People have probably won more than me. Just not here and now. Oh, look! That cloud looks like a rose." I pointed to the small puff that had appeared over one of the buildings around us. Dylan chuckled softly beside me.

"Man… school starts tomorrow," he muttered. I groaned.

"Don't remind me."

"You have to wear a _skirt._ "

"Trust me, I know that, Dylan. And you know how much I hate it."

"Which is why I find it so funny."

"Yes, yes, I know. You just enjoy laughing at my misfortune, don't you?"

"But of course. What are best friends for?"

I sighed. He had a point. Dylan grinned at me triumphantly and jumped up, offering me a hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet, and didn't let go as he led the way back to my house. I was used to this; since we were best friends, we were practically married anyway. People used to make jokes about it at school, but now they didn't even notice it. It was just something we did.

We came to my front door too quickly for my taste. Dylan pulled me into a tight hug; he knew how bad things were at home.

"Try not to blow anything up today, okay, Iva?"

I gave a false laugh. "I'll try. See you tomorrow."

I watched Dylan walk off sadly before steeling myself to walk into the house.

Kara greeted me as I walked in; she was the only thing that I really like about this place. She ran up to me, her pink pigtails bobbing, and hugged me tightly.

"Welcome home, sissy! Did you win again?"

I knelt down to her level once she released me and smiled. "I sure did! The coach was really proud of me, and so was the rest of the team!"

"I'm proud of you, too!" she said brightly in her adorable eight-year-old voice. I stood and took her hand, walking with her into the living room. My mom sat at a desk in the corner, her light brown hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her green eyes – the only thing we shared – didn't leave her computer as I entered.

"Hey, Mom. I won the race."

"That's nice, dear," she said absently. I sighed; I never got a good reaction out of it. Kara suddenly squeezed my hand. Then again, and again. Three squeezes: _I love you._ I beamed down at her and squeezed her hand back four times: _I love you, too._

"Oh, Iva! Daddy's making fish tonight!"

"Oh, really? What kind?"

"Salmon! I'm excited – I've never had salmon before!"

I laughed lightly – of course she had never had salmon before. The orphanage didn't exactly pamper their kids, and Kara had been adopted. "Well, you'll really like it. It's really good." She smiled up at me. "Hey, Kara. Why don't you go draw? I've got to get a few things together for school tomorrow; I'll help you once I'm done, okay?" She nodded excitedly and dashed off to her room, her pigtails swinging lightly. I passed the kitchen on the way to my room; sure enough, there was Dad, cooking salmon on a pan. From the way it smelled, I thought it was lemon pepper seasoning.

"Hi, Dad. I won that race today."

"That's wonderful, dear," he said absently, much like Mom. I could only see the back of his blond head, and he didn't turn around to greet me. I sighed again and continued to my room, shutting the door quietly behind me. I turned and faced the tan walls, plain blue bed sheets, and simple wood furniture. Granted, we had the same furniture throughout the house, but I could have done with a little more color.

I grabbed my messenger bag from the floor and set it on my bed, checking to see what I still needed. I lacked pencils, pens, and a pack of paper; these things I withdrew from my nightstand drawer, shoved them inside, and then set the bag back on the floor. I took a school uniform out from my closet (a simple white button-up blouse and a light blue plaid skirt) and hung it at the foot of my bed, placing my knee socks and loafers underneath it. Dad's voice drifted through the door; dinner must have been ready. I made my way out of my room and took a right through the hallway, passing the kitchen again and instead taking the next right into the dining room. Mom was already seated, her shoulders set perfectly straight. Kara bounced excitedly in her seat. Dad walked in as I sat down and set the food on the table.

As usual, I waited until everyone else had served themselves before grabbing some food for myself – being too hasty for food in this house was a bad idea, at least in my case. We ate in near-silence, save for Kara's occasional exclamations about how good the food was, how excited she was for school to start, and how she was proud of me for winning another race. I stared down at my plate when she said that last one; the silence that it was met with was nearly tangible.

Once dinner was over, I took up all the dishes and rinsed them before placing them carefully in the dish washer. I had to be careful when handling dishes, especially when I was feeling awkward around my parents – things tended to break around me, and I didn't want Mom yelling at me; I never knew what could happen if I got upset.

I thought back to when I first made something strange happen. I was only eight, and Mom had yelled at me for walking to a friend's house before coming home and not telling her. I got so upset, and as I was crying, a vase near Mom's head shattered. Nothing had hit it; it just exploded. Then, a few weeks later, I was upset at Mom for not letting me watch a TV show, and the remote had literally vanished from her hands and into mine. The older I got, the more frequent these strange happenings became. Dishes broke, candles and combs flew across the room, and once the sink started spurting water everywhere because the faucet came shooting off.

Of course, all these things only happened when I was around, so Mom and Dad had started to blame me.

That's why they adopted Kara. They wanted a normal child in the family, not some strange fifteen-year-old who made things blow up without meaning to.

I sighed. _'Calm down, Iva. You're gonna get all worked up again, and something's gonna happen, and that will just make tomorrow that much worse.'_ I shook my head to clear my thoughts and exited the kitchen, quickly crossing into my room before Kara could catch me. I just wanted to take a shower and go to sleep; all the sweat from earlier had dried, and I felt disgusting. Kara did catch me as I walked to the bathroom, but seeing my towel and clothes, she just smiled and bounced into her room. I smiled faintly after her for a second before continuing on to take my shower and get ready for bed.

I took a bit longer than usual in the shower, letting the hot water relax my muscles. The smell of my floral soap and green tea shampoo filled the bathroom, and I felt like I was in a spa. I finally mustered up the courage to turn off the water and step out onto the cooler tile, quickly towel drying my hair. Then I dressed in my tank top and shorts for bed, turned on the fan to get rid of all the steam, brushed my damp hair out, and left the bathroom. I walked down the hall to the laundry room to drop off my track clothes and the used towel, and then headed to Kara's room.

Kara sat on her bed as if she was waiting for me. Her hair was down now, reaching almost to her waist, and it looked slightly ruffled. She looked tired, but she beamed at me.

"I came to say goodnight, Kara," I said quietly as I sat on the edge of her bed. She leaned against me, and I hugged her tightly with one arm.

"Will you tell me a story, sissy?"

I laughed. "You're too old for stories, Kara. You're eight years old now."

"I know." She pouted. "But…"

I looked at her for a few seconds before giving in with a sigh, smiling. "Well, all right. I guess one story can't hurt." She gasped excitedly. "BUT, you have to lay down first. I have to tell it properly."

Kara hastened to crawl under her bed sheets. I tucked in the corners of her comforter and handed her Otis, her stuffed fish. She clutched him close to her chest as I pulled up a small chair set aside just for occasions such as these.

"Well, now. What kind of story do you want to hear, Kara?"

She pondered it seriously for a moment, her small brow furrowing in concentration. Then her violet eyes lit up, and she held her hand in the air as if she had just had an epiphany. "Tell me a story about a princess who gets taken from her castle but meets her Prince Charming!"

I smiled softly. "You always ask for that one, silly."

"But you always tell it differently! Come on, please, Iva?"

"Okay, okay!" I laughed. "Just don't interrupt me, okay?" Kara nodded feverently, pretending to lock her lips and throw away the key.

"Well. Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess. She was quite happy with her mother, father, and younger sister in their large castle. Their kingdom was large and peaceful, and all the people in it got along with one another like everyone should.

"One day, a strange old woman showed up on the castle doorstep. She knocked on the doors, and the beautiful princess opened it up to see the old woman in a raggedy robe. Her skin had a green tint to it, and her voice was raspy. She was the ugliest woman the princess had ever seen; but the princess had her duty to be nice, so she let the old woman in and fed her and then sent her on her way.

"That night, the old woman came back – but she was no longer old. She was young, and pretty, but her skin was still green, and she gave off a menacing air. When she knocked on the door, no one answered because everyone was asleep – except for the princess. The princess could sense that the woman was evil, and tried to hide – but the woman used magic to get into the castle. The witch, furious at being ignored, kidnapped the beautiful princess and took her far away to lock her in a tower. The princess fought with all her might, but she wasn't strong enough to fight a witch – after all, she couldn't use magic, so what could she do?

"Inside the tower there was a boy about her age. He was tall, and very handsome, and he told the princess that he, too, had been kidnapped from his kingdom for showing caution towards the evil witch. The prince and princess decided to work together to escape their prison. For almost a year, they worked together day and night, learning how to fight from each other, studying the green witch from afar, and even trying some of the magic that they found in a book in the tower. The princess found that she _could_ use magic – and so, while they trained, she tried to learn more and more about it.

"Finally the day came when the prince and princess decided that they would escape. When the witch brought up their food for the day, the prince surprised her by jumping on her back. Furious, the witch smote him with a spell –"

"Sissy, what does 'smote' mean?" Kara asked.

"It means to strike down, Kara. Now don't interrupt me again, silly, I was on a roll." She smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, the witch smote him with a spell, and he fell against the wall, unconscious. The princess was greatly upset at this, for in their year together, they had grown to love each other. Using her emotions, the princess unlocked a vast amount of power that she didn't know she had and banished the evil witch to another world, where she could never harm anyone again.

"The princess ran over to her prince, who was now slowly waking up. She worried over him, but he seemed to be alright, if a little dazed. They helped each other get out of the tower, and returned to the princess's kingdom. Her family was so overjoyed to see her, they didn't even notice her prince until he introduced himself. The princess told her tale, and the prince told his; they visited his kingdom, and it was soon decided that the prince and princess were to be married.

"And they lived happily ever after. The end."

Kara's eyes drooped. "That was a good story, sissy…" she said sleepily. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Kara. Sweet dreams."

"Nighty night…" and she drifted off to sleep. I smiled softly and stood, then walked out quietly and shut her door. Then I made my way to my room, shut off the light, and collapsed onto my bed.

It was always tiring telling these wonderful stories with happy endings when I just knew that I would never get the same.

~O~

My alarm beeped annoyingly until I slammed my hand on the 'Snooze' button. I glanced at it and groaned – 6:30 already. I sighed and rolled over – once again forgetting that my bed was rather small, and therefore falling off the side and landing with a heavy _thump_ on the floor. I grumbled and got up, grabbed my uniform, and trudged over to the bathroom – I was definitely NOT a morning person.

Once I dressed, I stared at myself in the mirror. Long blonde hair, plain green eyes, eyelashes coated in mascara. My arms were soft, but my legs were strong – they were the only thing that I liked about myself. Of course, Dylan would say otherwise, but he wasn't here right now. I sighed again and brushed through my hair once more, brushed my teeth, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Kara sat in the living room, her pink hair in a ponytail. She looked like a little doll in her school uniform, sitting on the couch. She grinned at me when I walked in with my bag. Her small blue backpack sat on the floor next to her feet.

"Are you ready to go, Kara?" I asked, smiling back at her. She nodded and jumped to the floor enthusiastically. I held my hand out to her, which she took once she had her backpack on. "Well, time to walk to school!"

The walk was uneventful. Kara practically skipped the whole way there, her little skirt poofing out as she jumped. We came in sight of the school fairly quickly, as we didn't live very far away. I dropped Kara off at the playground and made my way over to the high school building.

Dylan surprised me at the door by running up behind me and hugging me. When he let go, he kept his arms around my shoulders and walked with me through the door. He began to steer me towards a wall of papers covered with lists of names.

"So, do you think that we'll be in the same class this year?" Dylan asked, scanning the papers.

"I hope so. It's been years since we've been in the same class," I muttered. I spotted my name under Mrs. Redd's class. I looked up hopefully, and sure enough, there he was - Dylan Bigerstaph. "Dylan! We're in the same class!" I exclaimed, pointing to the sheet. "Room 102. Come on, let's go!" I ducked from under his arm and took his hand, dragging him behind me. I pulled him through the crowd of people and slipped into the empty room that was conveniently the first one on the hallway. I set my bag down on a desk next to the windows and flattened out my skirt - I hated this thing.

"I know you hate it, Iva, but you look adorable in that."

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Shut up, Dylan."

After about fifteen minutes, the room filled up with people. Hayner ran up to us as soon as he entered the room. His tie was loose and off-center.

"Dylan, Iva, what's up? We haven't seen you guys in a while."

I sighed and fixed his tie. "I've been busy with Track, Hayner, you know that."

"Well, Dylan, explain yourself!"

"I had a job. Where are Pence and Olette?"

Hayner looked slightly downcast. "They're in a different class. But at least I have you guys!"

Just then, a plump woman with spiky blond hair walked in and called order to the class. "Alright, calm down everyone! Take a seat." There was a rush to move bags and sit down next to friends while the woman walked to the front of the class. Dylan sat behind me, and Hayner sat to his right. I now saw everyone in the classroom, and realized that I knew just a few people, like Christine from Track.

"Now, I'm going to call roll, and then your math teacher will be here to start class!"

There was a collective groan.

~O~

"Alright! It's time for lunch!" the teacher called as the bell chimed. She dashed out of the room with her lunchbox in hand, followed by a flood of people. I hung back, my stomach growling.

"We gonna stay in here?" Dylan asked. I nodded and sat on my desk. Hayner scowled.

"I'm gonna go see if Pence and Olette are eating in the cafeteria. Later!" He dashed out of the room.

"Do you have any lunch?" Dylan asked me once Hayner was gone.

"No... I didn't pack one, and I forgot to ask for some money. It's not like they'd be too happy to give me some, anyway."

"Well, that's just fine because - " he reached down and pulled two carefully wrapped boxes out of his bag and placed one on my lap. "I totally thought ahead. Here's your lunch."

I gasped and opened it quickly, grabbing the sandwich inside. "Thank you so much! You're the best."

"I know, I know."

Just as I was about to take a bite, the floor rumbled violently, causing me to nearly fall off the desk. The lunch box fell off my lap, spilling out a bag of carrots and two cookies.

"What the hell?" Dylan yelped, standing up quickly. I scrambled to stand up as the shaking increased, causing the blackboard at the front of the room to fall off the wall. It hit the floor with a loud _crash_ , muffling the sounds of people screaming. I spread my feet apart for more support and grabbed my bag to hold over my head to protect from falling debris - which was good, as the lamps started falling from the ceiling and shattering on the floor.

" _Iva_! We have to get out of here!" Dylan grabbed my arm and began pulling me towards the door.

"No! Not that way! Too many people - we'll never make it out. Get the window open, but be careful!"

Dylan nodded and shoved me under the door frame, then darted across the room to the windows. He tried pushing one up to open it, but the shaking just shifted it closed again. Desperate, he grabbed a chair next to him and hurled it at the window with all his might. The window shattered loudly, and Dylan shoved the rest of the glass out of the way of our escape, slicing his hand open in the process.

"Are you okay?" I exclaimed, running over to him.

"I'm fine. It's not important. Go!" He grabbed my arm with his good hand and practically shoved me through the window, jumping out after me. We fell in a tangled heap in the grass as the shaking grew ever more violent.

Dylan jumped up first and helped me to my feet.

My heart suddenly sank as I caught sight of the playground, which was falling to pieces. "Dylan!" I choked. "Kara!"

He understood immediately and accidentally grabbed my hand with his wounded one, covering mine with blood. He didn't seem to notice as he began sprinting towards the playground, causing me to drop my bag. I began to overtake Dylan as we ran, but I refused to let go of his hand - I didn't want to lose him in all this confusion.

I saw a splash of pink under a bench near the playground. "Kara!" I shrieked. I let go of Dylan's hand and fought my way through the tide of people running away from the school, dropping down to the ground next to the bench. Kara looked up at me with tears in her eyes, but otherwise seemed unhurt. I pulled her into a protective hug in my lap - and suddenly, the earthquake stopped as quickly as it had come.

Kara kept on sobbing. "Shh, shh... It's gonna be okay," I murmured, smoothing down her messy hair. A low rumble, like thunder, rolled through the air.

Footsteps crunched behind me. "Iva..." Dylan said, sounding worried as he put a hand on my shoulder, "Maybe we should get out of here."

I looked up in confusion. "Why do you -"

What looked to be a large, four-legged ant with glowing yellow eyes stood in front of us. I froze and stared at it - its antennae twitched madly. Suddenly and silently, like a shadow, another one appeared - and then another, and another. I stood slowly, picking up Kara and clutching her to my chest as well as I could. I could hear her whimpering in fear and held her tighter.

"Iva... Get her out of here," Dylan whispered.

"I won't leave you alone!" I hissed. One of the creatures took a tentative step forward.

"Just go!" he yelled, yanking me back just a creature leapt forward. Dylan threw himself in front of us and tried to hit it away with a long metal pipe that he seemed to have acquired from the broken playground. He missed, and the creature scratched at his arm, leaving a few long bloody furrows. "GO!"

After regaining my balance from his sudden movement, I whirled and ran, carrying Kara with me. I held her protectively in my arms as I dashed away from the school and towards downtown, towards home. A strange creature that looked like a small red hourglass with a hat suddenly flew up in front of me, blocking the path to my house. It glowed orange, and sensing something bad, I dashed around it to a nearby alley. A large ball of fire flew past me and landed right in front of my leg, exploding in a flurry of flames. I screamed as they burned into my legs and socks, but kept running - if Kara was in danger, I had to keep going.

I ran all around Twilight Town, trying to find a safe place to hide Kara; no matter where I went, creatures blocked my way. Once, a pink-orange dragon swooped over my head, its claws missing me by inches.

While running through Tram Common, I noticed a large hole in the wall - the one that led to the abandoned mansion. I thought that the forest around it would be a good place to hide Kara- plenty of cover, and she might be able to climb a tree. I dashed over, trying to ignore peoples' screams, and slipped into the forest, hopefully unnoticed.

It was eerily silent in the forest. I practically dropped Kara, shaking violently. My legs burned from running so furiously, my arms hurt from carrying Kara, and I was panting heavily. I was afraid to look down at my burned leg - it hurt terribly, even though I had a high tolerance for pain. I took a few moments to catch my breath a bit; Kara sat on the ground, curled up in a ball. I tried to kneel next to her and hissed when my leg practically screamed in protest.

"Kara," I said softly. She looked up at me with fear in her eyes. "I need you to hide in here. Get under some bushes, climb a tree, whatever, but _stay hidden_. And don't come out until someone you know comes to get you." I would have told her to wait for me - but with the way that my leg was hurting, I didn't think that a paramedic would let me return.

"You can't leave me!" Kara cried with panic in her voice. I shushed her and hugged her tightly, and then painfully stood. Kara stared at my leg in shock before bursting into tears.

I glanced down at it and suddenly regretted my decision. Stretching along most of my left leg and a little bit of my right was a large black burn. Bits of raw flesh hung from my leg; even now, I could see water, blood, and other liquids oozing out of it. My stomach churned, and I swallowed hard and turned away.

"Stay safe, Kara," I said quietly. I then painfully set off towards Tram Common again, cringing when I heard the screams. I edged carefully around a dumpster; a long plumbing pipe lay on the ground, and I grabbed it to use in my defense - which was obviously a good idea, as one of the ant things popped out of the ground in front of me. Without thinking, I brought the pipe down as hard as I could on its head. I was met with typical resistance, but was surprised when i suddenly disappeared. The ant exploded in a burst of black, wispy smoke, which dissipated quickly. Shaken, I stepped out from behind the dumpster and began to make my way back to the school.

The town looked horrible. The little red hourglass things flew this way and that, setting fire to various buildings. A child-like figure in shiny armour ran by me noisily, but didn't seem to notice my presence. I kept heading to the school, sagging against the wall as my leg threatened to give out.

A flurry of activity met my eyes as the school came into view. Teachers ran around, throwing themselves in front of children to protect them. My throat constricted as I saw Christine being mobbed by the creatures; she screamed as they piled on top of her, and then was suddenly silent. I doubled over and almost threw up - _I had just seen a friend die._

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to yelp in surprise. I shot upright, holding my pipe at the ready.

"Iva, it's okay! It's me!"

I shook for a moment before falling into Dylan's arms. "Oh, God, Dylan! You're alright," I sobbed. "I don't know what I'd do if - if you weren't - okay - I just saw Christine - she's _dead_ , Dylan - I saw them get her - and I couldn't help -"

"Shh..." Dylan hugged me tightly while I cried. "It's gonna be okay -" he was cut off as a fireball crashed into the building across from us. I looked up quickly, tears still streaming down my face. "Iva, we have to get out of here. Where's Kara?"

"S-she's hidden in the forest. I made sure she was hidden well before I left. She'll be okay." I struggled to keep my voice even. Dylan held me tightly as he pulled me into an alleyway, away from the chaos. He must have noticed my limping because he gave me a look of great worry.

"Iva, why are you limping?" He tried to pull away far enough to see what was wrong, but I hugged him tightly to keep him from seeing my legs. At this, he grabbed my shoulders and practically forced me against the wall behind me. I sagged against it, defeated, while he looked at the blood on my shirt - stains that were acquired when I had wiped my hands clean of Dylan's blood -, the tears in my skirt, and finally the burns on my legs. He was silent for a long moment.

Finally, he sighed. "Iva... how the HELL can you run with your legs like that?!"

I winced as I heaved myself off the wall, gripping my pipe tightly. "I have a high tolerance for pain, and honestly... I think I'm going into shock. It doesn't hurt like it used to."

"Dammit, Iva, that's _bad_! Come on, we have to get you out of here!" He grabbed my hand - his currently had his school tie wrapped around it to stop the bleeding - and began to pull me away. I took a few steps and collapsed - my legs had finally given up on me. I hit the ground heavily, letting go of Dylan's hand.

"Iva! Are you -" his voice cut off with a strangled sort of sound. I looked up in shock -

\- to see a clawed steel glove breaking through Dylan's chest, covered in blood, with a small pink crystal in its grip.

I screamed, and the world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Where Am I?**

Darkness. A blank void. I looked around, trying to see something, _anything_. Suddenly, I was standing, and I looked down to see a blazing pure white surface. I almost felt as if I was standing on a light bulb. Upon closer inspection, I determined that this surface was the top of a large pillar that went down into the darkness until I couldn't see any more. I stepped away from the edge, nervous, and returned to what seemed to be the safest point: the center of the pillar.

It seemed I arrived just in time. The surface beneath me shook violently, causing me to fall to my knees. The shaking reminded me of not too long ago - the earthquake that made my world fall apart. Thoughts leapt unbidden to my mind; thoughts of Christine, who had died before my eyes; Kara, whose tear-stained face lingered too long in my head. Hayner, Pence, Olette, Rachel, Sasha, Chris... People who's fates I was unsure of. Even my parents, whom I could only remember with looks of fear and distaste towards me; I now realized that I wanted to see them safe.

And then I thought of Dylan, and the surface around me cracked. The shaking intensified, sending pieces of the pillar along the edge into the darkness. I found I didn't care. Tears were flowing freely down my face.

 _'Gone.'_ My best friend, my husband, my brother, my soul mate... he was dead. And I had watched him die. I had watched that _thing_ steal his life away. I realized I was screaming. Screaming with rage and grief, screaming with fear. I screamed so loud that my voice went hoarse.

He was never coming back. I would never see my best friend again.

I curled up in a ball in the center of the pillar, on an unbroken piece. More pieces were slowly falling off the edge, and I knew that at some point, the piece beneath me would fall, too, but I couldn't bring myself to care. If I fell, I fell - it didn't matter anymore.

I wasn't aware of time passing, or of anything other than my grief. In fact, I didn't notice that the shaking was subsiding until it stopped altogether. I took a moment to quite my sobs, then looked up.

I was shocked to see that the surface was whole again, shining brightly as it had before. I could still see cracks in the circle, and the cracks separated two different colors of white - one seemed more like a cream color than the pure white it was originally.

 _Don't give up._

My sobbing increased again as I realized that I was going crazy. Only crazy people heard voices in their heads.

 _Come on! Do you really want to wallow in your misery forever?_

"Maybe I do!" I shouted. "Maybe I can't get over this!"

 _You can, and you will. You deserve to live on._

"And he didn't?! What do you know? HUH?!"

 _You NEED to live on. Do you really think you should give up now? What about finding out what happened?_

I paused. "... What do you know about it?"

 _Live on and maybe I'll tell you._

A strange warmth filled my body. I felt... better. Like I could handle it. Like I could handle myself.

 _Come back to the light. If you stay here, you'll be lost forever, and then you'll never know anything._

I stood carefully, thinking it odd that my legs didn't hurt like before. I looked down at them and saw that the burns were still there, covering my left leg in black, charred skin. I grimaced.

"How do I come back to the light?"

 _Just close your eyes, and wake up._

I closed my eyes.

*O*O*O*

Pain woke me. Almost my entire left leg was screaming in protest from the abuse it had endured. A few patches on my right leg were similar, although they didn't hurt as much. The rest of my body ached - the muscles in my legs were starting to cramp, and I could feel various scratches on my arms that I didn't know I had.

After a few minutes, I finally opened my eyes. At first, it was so dark that I couldn't see anything, but as my eyes adjusted, I found I was in a large, dimly lit room. Small green lamps hung on the walls, glaring off black paint and forming an eerie glow in the vaulted ceiling. The glassy floor was cold on my skin. I tried to move - only to cry out in pain as my muscles began to spasm. Tears blurred my vision. I groaned and shivered; my clothes were tattered, and they didn't provide much protection.

I tried to sit up again, nearly screaming when my leg stuck to the floor. I bit my lip so hard it bled, but after a few gruesome minutes, I was upright and gasping with tears pouring down my face. I wondered how I had managed to carry Kara around - and a horrible thought hit me.

 _'What if she's dead?'_

My breath hitched, and I shut down that thought before it killed me. She was okay. I had made sure that she would be safe.

 _'But you couldn't save_ him _, could you?'_

My stomach clenched, and I almost threw up - but that would require moving, and that hurt too much. I barely bit back a sob, wrapping my arms around my waist.

After a few minutes used to calm myself down, I began to edge over to the wall. Every movement hurt, but I eventually relaxed against the wall. My hands were slick on the floor - I was sweating profusely, and by the way the room was breathing, I was sure I had a fever. I lay against the wall for a while, and as the room began to spin, I thought, _'I'm going to die.'_

For some reason, I found this extremely funny, but I was too tired to laugh. My eyes closed as the room began to echo strangely.

As I fell asleep, my body felt suddenly light, and I felt one last surge of pain in my leg before it went completely numb.

I awoke to my body aching dully. A strange pressure covered my legs, and I felt like I was on a large cushion. Light filtered through my eyelids as they fluttered open. Another vaulted ceiling stretched above me, surrounded by creamy white walls. I looked around slowly, taking in a line of cots with white sheets. I glanced down, seeing my arm hooked up to an IV. I shivered and looked away - I hated needles.

A thin sheet that felt more like paper than fabric covered the lower half of my body, and my chest was covered by a paper gown. I felt like I was in a hospital. I used my free arm to carefully move the sheet from my legs, and I saw that they were wrapped with clean bandages. The small table next to my cot had an empty jar with the label 'Elixer.'

The door suddenly opened, causing me to jump. A boy with shoulder-length silver hair walked in, his face changing from passive to slightly surprised. He stepped up to the side of my cot and placed another jar on the table, along with a bottle of water and a rag.

"So, you're finally awake."

I stared at him for a moment before saying something. "Where am I?" My voice rasped. I wasn't sure if it was due to strain on my vocal chords from screaming, or if it was due to lack of use, but I knew I sounded bad.

The boy didn't answer me; he simply picked up the new Elixer and popped the cork out, offereing it to me. I didn't move. He rolled his eyes and held it closer. "If you don't drink it, I'll either force you to, or I'll put it in your IV, and that might not be too comfortable either way."

I reluctantly took it, feeling slightly awkward as he watched me drink it. My body flushed with sudden relief, but it left a strange aftertaste in my mouth. The boy took the bottle back smugly and took my arm. I looked at him in alarm.

"What are you doing?!"

"Taking your IV out. You don't need it now that you're awake." With seemingly practiced fingers, he cut off the IV flow and pulled the needle out, swiftly covering the small hole with a bandage. He threw away the materials and then looked at me. "You should be able to sit up now, what with all the Elixers you've had."

I took his signal with little grace, but I pushed myself up anyway. My body was merely stiff, though my legs still burned dully. I sighed when I was upright, glad to be able to move. The stiffness made me wonder how long I had been laying there.

"What the hell happened to you, anyway?" the boy asked quietly.

"Why should I answer your question when you won't answer mine?" I replied dryly, rubbing the goosebumps from my arms. I was getting chilly.

"I did answer your question."

"You told me you were taking my IV out."

"But I answered your question."

"Where am I?"

"The infirmary."

I glared at his little smug smile. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Now I've answered _two_ of your questions. Time to answer mine: what happened to you?"

I looked down in my lap and gave him the shortest answer that I could think of while still telling the truth. "I don't know."

"You're telling me that you just popped up here, clothes tattered, covered in blood, and your leg nearly burnt off, and you don't know what happened?"

"It's none of your damn business anyway!" I snapped. The boy simply rolled his eyes, which were a strange shade of light blue.

"I practically saved your life when I found you. Don't I get a 'thank you' at least?"

"No."

Silence stretched for a few minutes while he stared at me as I fumed. I finally sighed heavily and spoke quietly. "How long have I been here?"

"You've been out for two days. This would have been the third."

"Two whole days..."

A few more moments of silence.

"Well? What happened?"

I looked away from him. "Fire. Lots of fire."

"Well, I guessed that on my own. But fire alone won't get you here - darkness does."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Were you attacked?"

"What?"

" _Were you attacked?_ " He looked suddenly eager. I gave him a suspicious look before slowly nodding. He sat back in his seat, looking smug and strangely... sad. "... I'm sorry."

I looked back down at my lap, my anger dissipating. I stayed silent, trying to block the memories from returning. It hurt to think about - _no. 'Don't think about it, Iva. Don't think about it.'_

"Hellooo?" the boy's voice called me out of my thoughts. I glanced up at him. "You zoned out there for a minute."

"Sorry."

"... Can you stand?"

"You expect me to stand on _this_ leg, after being unconscious for two days?"

"You should be okay to walk now. Those Elixers are powerful healers, and I gave you a lot." I vaguely recalled the name of the drink, and I remembered that they were fairly expensive because they worked well. I felt a little bad for using so many.

I looked back up at the boy, who was looking at me expectantly. I sighed and shrugged, debating on whether or not to get up. The boy stood and offered his hand to help me. I hesitated, then threw the sheet off my legs - the bandages were stark white against the blue paper gown I wore. I grasped his hand and used all the willpower I could muster to move my legs - which, surprisingly, didn't hurt all that much, and responded fairly well to my moving them. I set my feet on the floor and gingerly tested my weight on them before standing up, only to fall back down again. The boy caught my arm as my knees gave out, lowering me gently back onto the cot. I groaned and shut my eyes against the head rush that was causing the room to spin.

"You okay...?"

"I'm fine. Let's try that again."

It took me three more tries to stand up, and almost five to take a step forward. I hoped that I didn't have to walk very far, as I didn't think that my legs could take it. The boy stood to my right, keeping an arm around my waist to keep me steady. He pulled my arm over his shoulders (he was only a few inches taller than me) and took a tentative step forward. He began to lead the way to the door, which opened up into a dark hallway much like the first room I saw. He turned me to the right, and we set off, me hobbling and him supporting.

I was the first to break the silence after a few minutes. "So, I just realized that I don't even know your name."

"What do you think my name is?"

"I would say Steve, but you don't seem like a Steve. Kyle?" He shook his head. "Bob? Zack? Josh?"

"My name's Riku. Do I look like a person with a boring name like that?"

"Hey, I've got friends with 'plain' names!"

"Well, then."

We struggled on in silence for a few more moments. "... I'm Iva."

"Interesting name."

"How much farther do we have to go?"

"Do your legs hurt?"

"Well, yes, but - " I yelped as Riku suddenly bent down and pressed his other arm to the back of my knees, quickly but gently picking me up. I latched my arms around his neck unconsciously, afraid of falling. Riku chuckled softly.

"What, afraid I'll drop you?"

"Look, I - I can walk just fine! I don't like being picked up! Put me down, please!"

"Nah, we're almost there. Besides, you're not that heavy. See? That's where we're going." He nodded towards a large door at the end of the hall. I tightened my arms a bit and breathed deeply. I had made an understatement when I said that I didn't like being picked up - I downright _hated_ it.

We arrived at the door quickly, and it swung open as we approached, startling me. The room beyond was large and dim, with glassy black floors and walls, and more vaulted ceilings. Small green lamps hung here and there, but they weren't what caused the eerie glow (and chill) in the room. In the center stood a simple stone pedestal with a green aura emanating from the center. It pulsed with a slow, steady rhythm, sending off small waves of mist that cascaded down onto the floor. The green lanterns made it all the more creepy; a chill ran up my spine, giving me goosebumps.

"I need you to stand now," Riku said suddenly. He lowered my legs carefully to the ground and supported me as I stood, not letting go until he was sure I could keep my balance. He then turned to face the pulsing green light, his face becoming strangely impassive. "Maleficent. She's here."

The light grew suddenly bright, hurting my eyes, as a large pillar of green flames erupted next to it. The light vanished, and as my eyes adjusted to the gloom again, I saw a strangely shaped silhouette.

"Welcome, my dear girl," a woman said. Her voice was cold, but destructively soft. It gave me chills worse than the room did.

The lamps along the walls seemed to glow brighter, casting the woman in a green light - I though her skin looked a bit too green to be just the light. As I looked her over, I shuddered; a long, high-collared black cloak, a heavy staff with an orb on top, and growing out of the top of her head was a pair of twisted black horns, thicker around than my arm. She stepped forward and began to walk slowly around me, staring at me with cold eyes. I felt very vulnerable in my hospital gown, and I realized I was shivering - whether from the cold or from the 'freaked out' factor, I wasn't sure.

"I sense something special about you, dear..." she said softly when she stopped in front of me. Her hand came up and cupped my cheek, causing me to flinch; her sharp nails dug into my skin to hold me still. "Such empty eyes... Don't worry, Princess. I will take good care of you." Her voice turned sickly sweet. She turned to look over her shoulder at Riku. "Get this poor dear into a room and help her find some clothes. Use another Elixer if you must - now that she's away, she'll metabolize it much faster. My dear," she cooed, turning back to me, "I will see you once you are healed. I hope you will make yourself at home here." She backed up, and in another blinding pillar of flame, she was gone.

My eyes had time to adjust before Riku moved. He stepped in front of me and offered a jar, which I assumed was another Elixer. I looked at him to confirm that he wanted me to drink it before taking it and drinking it quickly; so quickly, in fact, that I nearly choked on it, and I hacked a couple of times before I could breathe again. My legs suddenly stopped aching, and my back lost its stiffness. I breathed a sigh of relief once all the pain had gone from my body, and I was suddenly _very_ aware that all I had one was a paper gown and bandages. I looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. You're lucky - there's only one more bedroom in this whole castle that's suitable for living. Follow me - I'll lead you up there."

We began a long trek through huge hallways, winding staircases, and strange elevators. I was hopelessly turned around; I didn't think that I would ever be able to find my way anywhere.

Just as the bandages began to get uncomfortable (they were rubbing against my burns), Riku stopped in front of a simple oak door. The hallway we were in was much brighter, with soft, warm lamps along the walls. I noticed a rug on the floor, adding warm colors to the hallway.

"This will be your room. Don't worry about getting lost; I'll help you find your way until you can make it on your own. It's really not that hard - those lifts are hard to figure out, though." He gently pushed the door open and ushered me inside.

The room was elegantly beautiful. The bed was large and covered with a plush caramel comforter, matching the carved wooden headboard. On the opposite wall hung floor-length curtains, obscuring part of a glass door that lead out to a small balcony. To my left was a vanity, and a small potted plant sat in the back corner, next to two doors on the right wall. I felt my jaw drop at how _pretty_ the room was - my first impression of this place was dark and gloomy, not classy and elegant. Riku chuckled as if he could read my mind.

"This castle is actually really nice. The only gloomy places are where Maleficent stays. Anyway... Stay here for a minute. I'm gonna go grab some munny, and some temporary clothes for you. You should be able to take those bandages off now, by the way. I'll bring another Elixer just in case."

"O-kay...?" I wondered what kind of clothes he would bring as he left the room. I stood there in silence for a moment before moving and sitting on the edge of the bed. My feet hit a plush carpet, and I was suddenly aware that my feet were bare. Had they been bare this whole time? I figured that was the reason I was so cold - no shoes or socks will do that.

I looked intently at the bandages, trying to figure out how to unravel them. I finally found a small tag near the top of my thigh, and by pulling on it, I began unwrapping my legs. The thought of seeing my burns scared me, so I tried to avert my eyes.

It made no difference. Underneath the bandages, my legs were covered in raised pink scars. I bit my lip and winced; it still hurt from when I made it bleed. After a few moments, all the bandages were in a wad on the floor, and cool air was hitting my burns. They gave off heat like a bad sunburn. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they were doing - Riku wasn't kidding when he said that Elixers were powerful healers.

I sat there on the bed, looking around the room and admiring things, until Riku came back. A knock sounded on the door before it opened, and he walked in carrying a small stack of clothes. He set them on the bed next to me and gave me a calculating glance.

"... You look like you got hit by a truck."

"Oh, _thanks_ ," I retorted as I grabbed the shirt next to me. It looked like I would be baggy, but I could make do. "Don't tell me I'm gonna get stuck with wearing _this_ all the time..."

"Why do you think I got munny? We're going to buy you new clothes." He said it with a biting tone, as if he couldn't believe that I hadn't grasped that fact. "Just change into these. You'll have to forget about shoes until we can buy you some - and don't worry, munny isn't an issue." He turned around, putting his back to me. "Go ahead and change, I won't look."

"Thanks, I guess," I said, standing carefully. I pulled the pants on slowly, trying not to rub my burns. The jeans were baggy, but Riku brought a belt, which barely fit. For once, I was glad I had wide hips. I then practically ripped the scratchy gown off, glad to be free. My bra, which used to be white, was now mottled red with blood from scratches on my shoulders, and some of it seemed scorched. I cringed at the thought of having to buy a new one. I was glad that the shirt that Riku brought was black; when I pulled it on, it fit better than I thought it would. It was still too big, but only by a few sizes.

"Okay, you can turn around now," I said as I walked towards the vanity.

Riku turned around just in time to see my look of horror as I saw myself in the mirror. My hair was a tangled, knotted mess, and some of it was burnt off. I had mascara and tear streaks down my face, along with dried sweat and what seemed to be soot.

"God, I _do_ look like I got hit by a truck!" I frantically began searching for something to tie my hair back - anything would do, as long as I could get it out of my face long enough to wash the dirt off.

"Hey, it's not that bad... What are you looking for?"

"A hair tie, a ribbon, a string, _something_! I need to put my hair up and wash my face - I'll deal with everything else later. But I am _not_ going anywhere looking like _this_." I hugged and rummaged through the vanity, letting out a cry of triumph as I located a long black ribbon.

"You know, I didn't really have you pegged as one of those girly-girls. I guess I was wrong."

"Well," I said, throwing my damaged hair into a messy bun, "I'm _not_ one of those 'girly-girls.' I _do_ , however, care about not looking like complete shit." I looked in the mirror, satisfied with the bun. I couldn't see the damage, and it didn't look too bad. I turned back to Riku. "Is there somewhere I can wash my face?"

"There's a bathroom right through there," he replied, pointing to the door on the wall opposite me that was closest to the balcony. I nodded my thanks and entered, pausing only because the _bathroom_ was pretty, too. I rolled my eyes and immediately went to the sink, turning on the tap.

My reflection was downright _scary_. The mascara streaks were fading off my pale face - which was weird in itself because I was generally tan due to spending so much time outside. My eyes had a frantic, yet strangely dull look to them. A few strands of dirty hair had already fallen out of my bun and into my face. I sighed and yanked the hand towel off the wall (the bathroom seemed stocked with everything required for a long stay) and plunged it into the now-warm water, soaking it. I scrubbed my face clean, leaving black stains on the towel. My eyes looked bland without mascara, but at least I was clean. I shut off the tap and dried my face on a towel hanging next to the tub, and then walked back out to where Riku was waiting. He raised an eyebrow.

"Can we go yet?"

"Where are we going again?"

"I never said where we were going."

I glared. " _Fine._ Lead the way, smart-ass."

Riku smirked and beckoned, walking out the door. I shuffled forward, the too-big jeans rustling against my legs. He lead me down the hallway, back through the convoluted elevators, and back into the dark room where I'd met Maleficent. I shuddered; I was not excited to be back in here.

"What is it, my dear?" a voice called, sickeningly sweet. Maleficent appeared in a burst of bright green flame, her cloak flapping menacingly around her.

"I need to get to Traverse Town. Iva needs new clothes, and that's the safest place. Will you take us there?" Riku answered coolly. Maleficent nodded slowly.

"Very well. Come here, my dears." Her staff vanished, and she held her arms out in what I thought was supposed to be an innocent gesture, but came off as more menacing. I glanced over at Riku in question, but he had already stepped close enough to her that her hand reached his shoulder. They looked at me expectantly. I cautiously stepped closer until her hand rested on my shoulder.

Flames erupted around us, and I screamed as the room disappeared.

My shriek rebounded off the walls of the alleyway. I jumped away and pressed myself flat against a brick building, afraid that I would go up in flames again. Maleficent sneered, and Riku struggled to hide a smirk.

"What?!" I demanded.

"I shall return in two hours to collect you, darlings. Meet me here," Maleficent said. She took a step back, and with even _more_ flames, she vanished.

Riku walked up to me with a huge grin on his face. "I must say, even I didn't freak out that much when she took me somewhere."

"Well, _sorry_ for being nervous around fire!" I snapped. "In case you forgot, I almost _burned my leg off!_ "

He held his hands up in surrender and laughed lightly, and then began walking down the alley. "Come on. We'll find you some clothes, and I need to grab some more Elixers. I used a lot on you."

I cringed and followed him out into a large square bustling with people. The sun was beginning to set behind a large clock tower that proudly chimed its bell for six o' clock. Riku gently took my elbow and pulled me through the crowd, stopping at what seemed to be a general clothing store. A sign on the door read 'NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE.' I stopped short a few yards away, getting a questioning look from Riku.

"I can't go in," I explained, pointing to my feet. "No shoes."

"Oh, sure you can. Don't worry about it. Come on, already, we don't have that long." He pulled me into the store, ignoring my words of protest.

The store was much larger inside than it looked. Racks of clothes were covering nearly every inch of the floor; what didn't fit on the racks was stacked neatly in shelves on the walls. Along the back was hung displays of shoes next to a few changing rooms.

"Hey!"

I jumped and focused on the perky brunette who had just appeared in front of us. "Oh, hello."

She looked me over with a calculating glance and nodded to herself. "You need new clothes. I'm assuming this isn't what you normally wear. Skirts or pants?"

She spoke quickly, giving me little time to respond. "Um, pants."

"Blouse?"

"No."

"Favorite color."

"R-red."

"Got it. Follow me. Sir, are you with her?" Riku nodded silently and put his hands in his pockets. "Awesome! Why don't you go get her some sneakers or something? What size shoe do you wear?"

"An eight."

"You heard her! Go!" Riku raised his eyebrows, but shrugged and walked off. The brunette turned to me, beaming. "So! My name is Stephanie, and I'm going to help you get some new clothes whether you like it or not!" She grabbed my elbow and took off, pulling my flustered self along. She practically shoved me into a changing room and put her hands on her hips. "So, what style do you like?"

"Um, something I can work out in?"

"Loose or tight?"

"Tight."

"Long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or sleeveless?"

"Sleeveless."

"Yoga or compression pants?"

"Compression."

"Stay here - I will be RIGHT back!" And she disappeared in a flurry.

Riku came up with a smirk on his face. "Well, she was definitely a strange one."

"Aren't we all sometimes?" I asked, sighing.

"I guess you could say that." He held up his hand, dangling a pair of simple black sneakers in front of me. They looked comfy, flexible, and suitable for running. "Here. I found socks, too." He tossed the shoes and a pack of socks into the corner of the dressing room as Stephanie returned with a sizeable bundle of clothes.

"Here you go!" I got some different styles of pants and tank tops. Do you need any, er..." She shot Riku a glance, then glanced down at my too-baggy shirt. Comprehension filled my mind.

"That would be _great_. 34 B. Nothing fancy."

"Got it! Start trying on that stuff, and we'll go from there!" She handed me the clothes and bustled off again.

"What was that about?" Riku asked.

"Nothing!" I said quickly, ducking into the changing room and shutting the door.

Stephanie had given me a small selection of different styles of compression pants, in varying shades of red. The tops were all black, with different styles. I tugged off the belt that Riku had lent me; the pants were so baggy that they fell straight to the floor. I suppressed a giggled while I pulled on a pair of compression pants, relieved to be in pants that actually fit (and surprised that Stephanie had managed to guess my size). The shirt fell off next, and I was just about to pull a tank top over my abused bra when a knock sounded on the door.

"Hey! I got you some more stuff. I hope it's the right size!" A small plastic bag dangled from Stephanie's hand over the door - bless her heart, she didn't want to embarrass me _at all_.

"Thank you so much," I said, taking the bag. Inside were a few simple black sports bras that actually provided support, and multiple pairs of soft black underwear. I nearly squealed with delight, yanking off my ruined bra and slipping on a new one, and then tugging on a tank top that had flexible boning in the fabric for shape.

"Well, are you done yet? Come on, let's see!" Stephanie called out. I laughed and opened the door, stepping into view self-consciously. Stephanie whistled, and Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Well, then! I guess I did alright! What do you think? Do you like it?"

I nodded enthusiastically and thanked her, then turned to Riku. "How much munny do we have?"

"Enough. Trust me. Get whatever you need."

I gave him a skeptical look, but moved to go back into the changing room. Stephanie grabbed my arm.

"Wait! Do you REALLY want to change back into those clothes?"

"Not really..."

"Do you want these clothes?"

"I was planning on getting them, yes."

"Then keep them on! Here," she turned me around and yanked the tags from my clothes, then pushed me back into the changing room. "Go ahead and put on those shoes, too. I'll ring them up when you get finished. Come up to the counter when you're ready, okay?"

"Sure! Thanks a bunch, Stephanie."

"It's my pleasure!" She skipped off.

I sat and opened the pack of socks (which were also black - I was beginning to see a theme here) and pulled on a pair, then tugged on my shoes. "Stephanie's a nice girl."

Riku nodded, staying silent as I gathered all the clothes in a neat pile. The clothes that Riku lent me (and my battered bra) went into the back of underwear that Stephanie gave me. I check the tags on everything to make sure that it was all the same size, satisfied when I found it was. I gathered the clothes in my arms, and we set off towards the register.

Stephanie cheerfully rang up my order. Riku pulled a handful of munny out of his pocket; I deliberately didn't look to see how much it all cost.

"Well, thanks a lot for your help, Stephanie," I said as I picked up the large bag on the counter.

"It was my pleasure. You have a good evening!"

I smiled over my shoulder and stepped out into the cool evening air.

Riku sighed. "We've still got a little while here. Do you want to get some food? I'm hungry."

"Food sounds like a great idea."

Almost an hour later, we were wandering the town, our bellies full.

"Hey! Hey, wait!"

I whirled around to see Stephanie running towards us, clutching something in her hands. She stopped in front of us, panting.

"I... thought... you might... want a jacket." She huffed and held out her hand, dropping the object into my arms. I held it out, realizing that it was a nice, new denim jacket. Upon my inquiring glance, Stephanie smiled softly. "You must understand - we get a lot of people here who survive their worlds getting attacked or destroyed. I see it so often, and I know that look. I like to do something nice for these people, because I know it must be tough, so I got you a jacket. I figured that you might be a little chilly what with all those tank tops." She looked at me expectantly.

I stared in shock. "I... don't know what to say! Just... thank you. Really." I slipped the jacket on, tugging it down - it was a perfect fit.

Stephanie grinned. "You're welcome. I need to get back to work. Come back any time, okay? I look forward to seeing you again!"

I smiled softly and waved as she bustled off like a little tornado. I tugged the jacket closer around me. Stephanie was right - it was chilly, and I was thankful for the warmth.

"Well, that was nice of her," Riku commented. He sounded slightly surprised. "Come on. It's almost time to meet up with that witch."

I sighed and followed him back out to the plaza, which was now devoid of people. The clock tower chimed again, proudly proclaiming that it was eight o' clock. I looked around the plaza for Maleficent. Riku settled down on a bench. I took that as a sign to wait, so I walked over to the fountain and began examining it. Stained glass covered the back wall, glowing from an internal light.

Something brushed against my leg, like a cat. I turned to look at it, only to stop short.

A large black ant-thing with huge yellow eyes stared straight back at me, its antennae quivering.

I screamed, there was a bright flash, and I was somehow seated on the ground, staring at a large black scorch mark on the cement before me.

"My, my," a voice cooed. I looked up to see Maleficent striding towards me, Riku trailing behind with a strange expression on his face.

"Thank you," I blurted.

"Whatever for?"

"Y-you... blew up that ant thing!"

Maleficent chuckled. Her eyes were bright. "No, my dear. You did."

"I what?" I stood up and brushed the dusty residue off my pants - I hadn't had them for two hours and they were already dirty. I felt very flustered as I picked up my bag of clothes.

"You used _magic_ , child. It is untamed, untrained - and very dangerous. This isn't the first time it's happened, is it?"

I looked at her with distrust, my heart beating hard. I didn't want to believe her, but she made sense. It _wasn't_ the first time it had happened. Vases, dishes, the remote... I didn't want to think about it.

Maleficent held out her hand, her other already on Riku's shoulder. "Come, now. Let's get back to our world, and I will soon teach you how to control your power."

I looked at her warily, then sighed and stepped forward, figuring that I had no choice.

I just hoped that I wouldn't regret it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Welcome to Hell**

" _Focus!_ "

I collapsed on the floor, gasping for air.

"Get up, child, and control your emotions!"

I shuddered and forced myself upright, shooting a glance to my right. Riku was leaning against the wall next to my discarded jacket, watching impassively.

"Focus!" Maleficent snapped, sending another wave of energy at me. I threw all of my attention towards the oncoming blade of light, determined to control it. It slowed fractionally, and then jerked to a stop in front of me, quivering. It stayed there for a moment, but once my elation at having controlled it hit, it scattered and dissipated. I gasped, suddenly remembering to breathe. Maleficent sighed as I doubled over, panting.

"... Fine. I will try a different approach." She strode over to me and grabbed my wrist, forcing me upright. She turned my hand palm-up, and with a flick of her wrist, she dug her fingernail into my palm. Pain flashed in my hand, and a long thin line burned red. Blood seeped out of it quickly; the cut was deep. I hissed and yanked my hand away, keeping it carefully away from my clothes - I didn't want blood stains.

"Heal yourself." She glared at me in contempt and stepped back, disappearing in a burst of flames. I groaned.

"What the _hell_ does she mean by THAT?!" I shook some blood off my hand, spattering it on the floor. "How am I supposed to heal myself if I _don't know what I'm doing_?!"

Riku made his way over to me, smirking. "She already told you, Iva. Focus. Use your energy to heal yourself. Imagine your hand healing, and put all your attention on that and that alone."

I glared at him and shook some more blood from my hand. It was bleeding a little too freely for my taste. I looked down at my palm, watching the blood drip down.

 _'Come on, Iva. Focus.'_

I took a deep breath and imagined the cut on my hand sealing shut. I envisioned the skin closing up flawlessly. My hand itched. My eyes snapped open (I hadn't realized that I had closed them), and I looked down at my palm. Blood still dripped from it. I sighed.

Riku suddenly took my wrist and covered my hand with a dark cloth, drying the blood off. He silently took the cloth away and let go of me, leaving me staring at my now scratch-free hand.

"How..." I was at a loss for words. I had actually healed myself! For once, I had control over something that happened.

"See? You just gotta focus. Here's an idea - if your magic is controlled by your emotions, try meditation. It'll help you gain control over your mind, and thus help you focus."

I sighed and dropped my hand to my side, slightly disgruntled. "Stupid witch..."

"Hey, in case you haven't realized, you're a witch now, too."

"Are you _defending_ her?"

"Course not. I was just making sure you knew."

I scoffed and turned away with my arms crossed, starting to walk towards my jacket at the side of the room.

"Hey! We're not done yet. Catch."

I turned around just in time. With a yelp, I threw my arms up to stop the large stick flying towards me. It bounced off my arms painfully and clattered on the floor. Upon looking up, I saw that Riku held a similar stick in his hands. It was about the length of one of his arms, and roughly shaped like a sword. I glared.

"Pick it up, Iva. Let's spar."

"What the hell?"

"You heard me! Pick it up!"

I sighed and bent to pick up the stick, which I now realized was a practice sword. I held it in front of me, attempting to imitate Riku's stance.

"Place your feet a little wider apart; sword higher... higher... Back straight..." He helped me get my balance right, and showed me how to hold the sword correctly. Upon finding out I was left handed, he had me change the position of my hands and told me that I could swing with one or two hands, whichever I preferred. He stood back and took his stance again, giving me a look of strangely suppressed arrogance. "Hit me."

I rolled my eyes and swung my stick forward, recoiling when Riku flicked his wrist and not only knocked my stick out of my hands, but also when he hit my right upper arm with a swift tap.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"You should have blocked me."

"You shouldn't have hit me!"

"Then block it next time. Why haven't you picked up the sword yet? A Heartless won't wait while you pick up your weapon. Why should I?"

I scowled and picked up the stupid stick, backing up a few paces. "Heartless?"

"Beings made from the darkness in peoples' hearts. You blew up one in Traverse Town. Now, try again: hit me."

I gripped the sword tighter and swung again, this time from the other side. He deflected it easily, this time tapping my ribs, though I kept hold of my sword. I whirled and struck at his shoulder, trying to catch him off-guard, but his sword blocked mine at the last second. He stepped back, allowing me to regain my balance, before taking the initiative to strike me. I yanked my stick up just in time, and his blow glanced away from me, sending a jolt up my arm.

We continued in this fashion for what seemed like hours. Though I hurt all over, and I could see black and purple bruises forming (the swords were sturdier than they looked), I enjoyed the physical exertion. The sweat dripping from my arms made my grip on the stick precarious; I was afraid of it slipping at any moment.

The exertion reminded me of home. I thought of the many days spent sparring with Hayner to help him practice for the Struggle tournaments. The racing of my heart and quickness of my breath brought back memories of track team - of running endless laps to train, of sweat dripping into my eyes, of my muscles burning with strain.

A loud clatter brought me back to the present; I had dropped my stick again, and Riku had the tip of his pressed to my throat. I held my shaking hands up in surrender as I panted heavily. He held his pose for a moment, then backed away and allowed his arm to fall to his side, the sword gripped loosely in his hand. I began slowly walking in circles with my hands on my hips as I tried to regulate my breathing. Riku bent over and put his hands on his knees.

"You shouldn't do that," I panted.

"What?"

"It's better if you... walk around to catch your breath. You won't be as sore." I continued to walk in circles, concentrating on slowing my breathing. I counted breaths; in for two steps, out for three, in for two, out for three... A few minutes later I halted and turned my attention back to Riku. He had righted himself and was staring at me with a curious expression on his face.

"You're not as soft as you look," he commented dryly.

"I'm - I mean, I was on my school's track team. Team captain, actually. I'm used to physical exertion." I winced inwardly at my mistake; I wasn't home anymore, and I wasn't even sure if my home still _existed_. I mentally slapped myself to get away from that thought.

"Well, that just means that it'll be easier to teach you how to fight. Come on, I'll lead you back to your room so you can clean up; I want to take a shower, too."

We spoke little on the way back, but Riku seemed to treat me with a newfound reluctant respect. He left me at the door to my room and vanished down the hallway; I heard a door click distantly.

I walked into my room and grabbed some new clothes, placing them on the foot of my bed, and searched for towels, which ended up being on the left wall of my closet. I snatched one up and collected my clothes, and set the bundle on the sink in the bathroom. It took me a moment to riddle out how to turn the hot water on, but in mere minutes I had stripped down and stepped into the hot water, wincing as it cascaded down my legs. The once terrible burns now felt like a simple sunburn.

I washed my hair three times, trying to coax it back to its natural health. I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, at which point I shut it off and stepped onto the cool tile, steam obscuring my vision. The towel felt like heaven on my skin, though I was careful with the burns.

I wrapped the towel around myself and frowned at the clothes on the sink. I hadn't thought about it before, but I wished I had - I didn't want to sleep in my regular clothes, but that was all I had. I sighed and towel-dried my hair and put on underwear, flipped on the fan, and left the bathroom.

I searched the closet for something to sleep in, but found nothing. My thoughts went to the shirt that Riku lent me, which was on the floor in a corner. I bent and picked it up, and slipped it over my head; it was long enough to make me decent, but just barely.

I shuddered as I made my way back to the bathroom, locating a pair of scissors. I reluctantly brushed my hair out and took a deep breath before looking in the mirror.

I was clean - that was about the only good thing going for me. My hair was frayed and uneven for multiple inches along the bottom - it used to be so long and healthy, but once I was done, it would only brush my shoulders. With shaking hands, I brought up the scissors and set about cutting off the damage that the fire had wrought. Without quite realizing it, I began to cry, and when the scissors made their last _snip_ , I broke. The scissors fell with a clatter into the sink, and I crumpled to the floor, sobbing for all that I had lost. Christine, who didn't deserve to die that way - the nicest girl I knew, torn apart by monsters. Kara, my poor, innocent little sister whom I was helpless to protect. My mother and father; now that I was unsure of their fate, I found myself missing them. My teachers, my classmates, Hayner, Pence, Olette, Vivi, Seifer, Fuu, Rai...

And Dylan. _My Dylan._

No. No! _NO!_

My hands clenched into fists into my shorter hair as I tried to hold on to my sanity. Grief threatened to take me to a very bad place; I grabbed the damp towel and buried my face in it in an attempt to quiet my screams - I didn't want Riku to hear me and come asking questions. For what seemed like hours - or days, even - I succumbed to my sorrow in a heap on the floor.

Cramps in my neck, shoulders, and back woke me. I was curled up in the most uncomfortable position, with my shoulders pressed painfully against the bottom of the sink, and my head pillowed on the still-damp towel. I sat up groggily and pulled my legs closer, shivering. Goosebumps covered my skin, making my burns more sensitive. I groaned and stretched, letting out a sigh as my joints popped. I stood slowly, wincing at my sore muscles and bruises.

My face startled me when I looked in the mirror. It was bright red and puffy from crying, with towel creases on the right side. My eyes were bloodshot and watery. I quickly walked away from the bathroom, forcing back more tears.

I pulled open the glass doors on the back wall and stepped out onto a small balcony. It was late in the night, and the stars shone brightly in the clear sky. I saw no moon, which surprised me. Perhaps it was a new moon.

The sound of rushing water filled my ears, and I pinned the cacophony to what looked to be a huge waterfall facing my room. I breathed in the cool night air, beginning to relax. I liked this little balcony, surrounded by waterfalls.

Once I calmed down, I stepped back inside and shut the doors, pulling the drapes closed so that the morning sun wouldn't bother me. I then shuffled over to the bed, about to collapse on it, but stopped when I saw a small box sitting on my pillow. I picked it up and read the note pinned to the top:

 _Hey. Thought you might want some food. You didn't answer the door when I knocked, so I guess you were still in the bathroom doing whatever girls do. See you bright and early tomorrow. Riku._

I smiled softly and opened the box to see a sandwich and a bag of chips, along with a small bottle of water. My stomach growled; I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I quickly downed the food, eager to get to sleep. I set the empty box on my nightstand, took a few swigs of water, and laid in the plush bed. I sighed as I relaxed into the mattress, and before I could even adjust my position, I was out.

A loud knock roused me from my sleep.

"Iva? Come on, wake up. Iva, don't make me come in there." Another knock. I groaned and rolled over, gathering the sheets tighter around me.

The door clicked open, and a few moments later, light spilled into my room. I cried out in shock and pulled the sheets over my head. I heard a sigh behind me.

"Iva, get up. Maleficent won't be happy if she has to wait for you."

"Mmph."

Riku gave another exasperated sign and nudged my shoulder. "Come _on_ , Iva."

"Leavemealone."

"Fine! I didn't want to do this, but if you insist..."

I had just begun to peek out from the sheets when Riku grabbed the edge of them and yanked, causing me to fall heavily to the floor with a yelp as I was unwrapped.

"What the _hell_ was that for?!" I cried indignantly as I sat up. I glared at Riku from across the bed; he had a smug smirk on his face.

"I told you to get up."

"Asshat," I growled, pulling myself to my feet. Riku glanced downward and quickly looked away; I thought his ears looked a little pink. Still cheesed off at him, I stalked into the closet and dressed in there, tugging on my denim jacket to chase off the chill. I did my best to ignore the black and purple bruises scattered over my body.

Riku looked at me curiously after I emerged from the closet and moved to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once finished, I tied the black ribbon that I had used to hold up my hair around my neck - I wanted it out of the way, and it looked nice as a choker. I looked to Riku, realizing he was still staring at me.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"You cut your hair."

I looked away and replied in a flat voice. "Yeah. It was too damaged to leave."

Riku nodded, thankfully letting the subject drop. "Come on. I'm sure that you want to eat breakfast before Maleficent starts her torture session again."

"That would be nice."

Riku led me silently through the halls, stopping in a small kitchen that smelled of breakfast foods. Pans sizzled with bacon, warm eggs sat on the counter, and browned potatoes popped on a skillet. Riku grabbed a plate for himself and took about half the food, leaving the rest for me. I took a plate from the same cabinet Riku did and piled on the rest of the food before following him to a nearby counter. He leaned against it and offered me a fork, which I took gratefully. After a few minutes of silent eating, I spoke.

"So, who makes this food?"

"No idea," Riku said through a mouthful of eggs. "But every morning, noon, and evening there's food here, and enough for however many people are eating."

"Mm." I stuffed a few more bites of bacon into my mouth.

"So," Riku said at length, "did you try meditating last night?"

I winced inwardly. "No."

"That's a shame. I really think that would have helped today. Oh, well. You done with that?" he asked, pointing at my now-empty plate. I nodded and he took it from m to put it into the sink with his. He looked at me expectantly.

"Ready for Day Two?"

"Not in the slightest."

Riku chuckled. "Come on."

He led me to the training room that Maleficent had tortured me in. Again, I was hopelessly lost by the time we reached our destination.

Maleficent was waiting in the center of the room. I approached her cautiously, pulling off my denim jacket and handing it silently to Riku. The bruises on my arms screamed for my attention, but I ignored them to focus on the witch in front of me. Maleficent turned around slowly, a look of cool contempt on her face.

"Are you prepared to try again, child?" Her voice was monotone; she had dropped the honeyed voice already. I figured my performance yesterday must have been pretty awful to warrant such a drastic change in her.

I bowed my head in a respectful gesture. "I'm really sorry about yesterday, Maleficent. I promise I'll do better today."

"I certainly hope so," she muttered disdainfully. She strode to the opposite side of the room, and without warning, flung a wave of energy at me. Surprise made me hesitate for a moment, but I quickly focused, and then the shockwave just stopped. I reeled in my joy at my success and gave a sort of mental _push_ , and the wave dissipated. I realized my hands were elevated, raised towards where the shockwave was.

I grinned. "I did it!"

Maleficent's face bore a wry smile. "Well done, child. Now do it again."

It was harder this time to focus quickly, due to my elation at my first successful attempt; however, after a moment of fighting with the energy, I made that wave dissipate, too. Maleficent began sending stronger shockwaves at me - some got through and hit me, making me feel like I got punched in the gut, but I managed to completely counter or deflect most of them.

After what felt like days, the mental exhaustion finally got to me, and the force of the most recent wave landed me on my back on the floor. I groaned and struggled to stand as Maleficent walked towards me.

"Enough."

I looked up in surprise. Maleficent held her hand out, as if to help me up. I took it gently, and she pulled me to my feet.

"That was a big improvement. We will continue with this for a few days before we move on. You still have room to improve. Come back here tomorrow, at the same time. We are done for today." Maleficent disappeared in a flash of flames, making me flinch.

Clapping sounded from behind me, and I turned to see Riku smirking. I realized he was clapping sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up," I snapped. "I'd like to see you improve that quickly."

Riku chuckled and shook his head. "We'll see how much you've improved when I'm done with you." He took a fighting stance, his hands raised, but empty. "Today we'll work on hand-to-hand combat."

I scowled and slipped into a defensive stance. "How can I improve when I've never done something before?"

"Well, you can start by clenching your fists properly." Riku walked over and fixed my arms, then resumed his position. "I'm not going to aim for anything vital 'cause I don't want to accidentally kill you, but don't think that means I'll go easy on you. Ready?"

I nodded, and we began.

A few hours later, I collapsed on the ground and curled into a ball, groaning. I preferred getting beaten up with that stick to this torture.

"Get up."

I groaned louder. Riku kicked my leg lightly, but I was in so much pain that the simple contact made me bite my lip to keep from crying out. I noticed the taste of blood and wasn't sure if biting my lip cause it or if it was brought about by one of the many punches to the face.

"Iva, we're not done."

"Screw you."

I heard Riku move, then felt him nudge my arm. His hand was on my shoulder, trying to roll me over. Without thinking, I sent a shock up his arm. He yelped and jumped back.

"What the hell was that for?"

I slowly uncurled my body, muscles and bruises screaming in protest, and looked at him. He was cradling his hand to his chest.

"Are you okay?"

"You just electrocuted me!"

"I did not. I _shocked_ you. There's a difference." Riku huffed. "I can't fight anymore, okay? I can hardly move. Did I hurt you?"

Riku glared and shook his hand a bit. "No, I'm fine. But that wasn't really necessary."

"It was totally necessary! That's revenge for beating the shit out of me."

And he had beaten the shit out of me. My head was throbbing, it hurt to breathe, my arms were dead at my sides, and my legs were in so much pain that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk. I was pissed that he had hurt me this much - I only managed to land a few hits on him, and no bruising was visible. I knew that the majority of my body would be purple or black tomorrow, if not already turning colors.

Riku sat down in front of me, his legs crossed. "You know, it's not fair to use magic against me like that. I'm awful with magic."

"It's not fair to beat the shit out of me like that, " I retorted, then paused. "Wait, you can use magic?"

"Not really," he admitted. "Maleficent tried to teach me basic spells for combat - you know, Fire, Blizzard, Thunder - but I just couldn't get them to work. It's like... I can feel it there, somewhere, but it's almost like something's blocking me. It's weird." He looked at me curiously. "Maybe you should practice magic on your own."

I coughed a laugh. "I can't even stand and you expect me to practice on my own?"

"Well, you'd get better faster. Plus, Maleficent would be impressed, and I've found that it's best to stay on her good side."

"You must have been here a while to know that," I said carefully.

"Yeah." Riku looked down at his hands.

I waited a moment before speaking. "So... how long have you been here?"

Riku smiled wryly and stood, holding his hand out to help me up. "Maybe I'll tell you another day."

I reached up and let Riku pull me to my feet. I groaned again.

Riku smirked. "You should stretch some tonight. And maybe take a hot bath."

"The bath sounds nice." I forced myself to walk over to my jacket at the edge of the room, my knees almost giving out along the way. I slowly picked it up, and then made my way back to Riku.

"How long do you think it'll take me to learn how to navigate this castle?" I asked as Riku led the way out of the room and into the hallway.

"You'd learn faster on your own, but I don't want to keep Maleficent waiting every morning. You need a day to learn the ins and outs of this place." He looked thoughtful. "Maybe I'll see if Maleficent can give you a break for a day."

Hope flooded through me, then dread. "That sounds great, but... I really don't think we should ask that. I don't think she'd be too happy about it. I'd love a break, though. I'm exhausted. Even with as much as I hate getting beaten up by you, it's actually less taxing than magic."

Riku grinned. "What, getting tired already? It's only been two days!"

"Well, I've never used magic voluntarily. It's harder than I thought. I've always tried to repress it, not use it."

"How long have you had it?"

I shrugged as we stepped onto the first Lift Stop. "I guess it started when I was about eight. I was late coming home from school because I went to a friend's house first. When I finally got home, my mom yelled at me for a while, and I was so upset, and suddenly a vase behind her just exploded. It scared us both so much, it made me stop crying. We tried to forget about it, but then things like that started to happen more often. Dishes would shatter and things would fly across the room, all whenever I was upset. Mom started to blame me for it, and..." I stopped myself from continuing. I wasn't ready to talk about my little sister who might be dead, especially to someone who was practically a stranger. Riku seemed to catch on, though, as he didn't press for details.

"I'm sorry. That must have been confusing."

"It was." We stopped in front of my door. I hadn't realized that we had already made it back. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then," I said to Riku.

"Yeah. Want me to come get you for dinner tonight? You haven't eaten since this morning, and you've worked a lot." My stomach growled, making Riku laugh. "Think you can wait a few hours? I think I want to shower first."

I nodded. "I'd like to take a bath, too. So I guess I'll see you in a few hours."

Riku gave me a mock salute and turned to walk down the hallway. His room wasn't far from mine. I liked that he was close by; it comforted me that my guide was so easily accessible.

I went into my room and did exactly what I said I was going to do: I took a hot bath to relax my muscles. I was right in the assumption that I was covered in bruises; my torso looked and felt so bad that I was afraid that a few ribs may have cracked. I carefully slipped into the hot water, sighing as the heat leeched away my pain. I soaked for a while, then cleaned myself. By the time I was don, the water was getting chilled, so I pulled the plug and stepped out, and then dried myself off carefully. I walked to my closet in my towel, got dressed, and tossed my dirty clothes in a corner.

The sun was setting outside, and the colors in the sky drew me onto my balcony. I watched the waterfalls, calmed by their cacophony. Something seemed off about their appearance, but before I could dwell on it, a knock sounded on my door. I turned to see Riku slowly let himself in. He noticed me on the balcony and walked over to join me. He leaned on the railing and stared pensively at the waterfalls.

"I didn't know this room had a view of the Rising Falls."

"The Rising Falls?"

Riku looked at me. "Yeah. Didn't you notice? The water flows up, not down."

"So THAT'S why it looks weird!"

He laughed. "Yeah. Anyway, are you ready to get food?"

I nodded. Riku led the way out of the room and stopped at the end of the hallway. He turned to me, grinning. "Lead the way, Iva."

I looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Go on, lead the way." I grimaced, but turned and started walking. "Don't worry," Riku said. "I won't let us get _too_ lost."

I managed to make three correct turns before messing up, making Riku laugh at me. I smacked his arm lightly, but sighed. "Man, I AM gonna have to spend a day or two to figure this out."

"You'll get the hang of it. My offer to talk to Maleficent still stands."

"Uh, no thanks. I'll just wait 'til she leaves on her own."

"If you say so."

The rest of the trip was silent, and when we arrived at the dining hall, I inhaled the amazing smell of dinner. I wished there was someone to thank, but like Riku had already said, the food just appeared.

We ate our fill, washed our dishes, and headed back up to our rooms. I noticed Riku giving me a strange look while on one of the lifts.

"What?"

"Nothing." He looked away for a moment, then back at me. "Are you ticklish?"

"The hell? N-no!" I shrunk away from him. He grinned mischievously.

"That's good to know."

I took another step back, reaching the edge of the lift. "If you tickle me, I will rip your arms off. How are you gonna train me then, huh?"

Riku said nothing, but laughed to himself. When the lift stopped, I hopped off, still looking at him warily.

"Do you remember the way back?" he asked.

"Ummm..." I took a few steps forward and looked around. "... I think so?"

Riku motioned me forward, and I managed to find my way back to my room. Upon arrival, I grinned at him triumphantly.

He smirked. "Don't get cocky. You still have the rest of the castle to explore."

I stuck my tongue out at him, making him laugh. He had a nice laugh.

"Y'know, I still think you should try meditating," he said when he finished. "I really think it would help."

I shrugged. "I'll see what I can do. I've never meditated before."

"You'll figure it out." Riku gave me another strange look, his bright aquamarine eyes - I hadn't noticed how intense they were before - holding an emotion I didn't recognize. "Well, good night," he said after a moment. "We have another early start tomorrow."

I groaned before opening my door. "G'night, then." I entered my room as he walked away, shutting the door behind me. I realized I was smiling. What was I smiling for? I shook my head to clear it, then grabbed a pillow off my bed and strode to the balcony. I had left the doors open, and the sound of the Rising Falls filled the air. I figured if I was going to try meditating, my balcony would be the place to do it.

I set my pillow down and sat cross-legged on it. I rested my wrists on my knees and closed my eyes, trying not to feel silly. I thought that counting my breaths would be a good way to start, so that's what I did.

 _In for three, out for four... In for four, out for five..._

I didn't know how long I sat there. I focused only on my breathing and the sound of rushing water. Not a single thought lingered in my head. I could feel my heartbeat had slowed, and I was immensely calm.

After a bit longer, I decided I should stop, and I opened my eyes. My view surprised me - I was looking _over_ the balcony railing, not at it like when I started. I looked down, shocked to see that I was no longer sitting on my pillow, but now hovering a few feet above it. I yelped, and with my calm demeanor shattered, I fell to the floor. The impact hurt my tailbone, even through the pillow.

 _'The hell...?'_ I could levitate? I tried doing it again, to no avail. _'I guess I don't have enough control... Maybe Riku was right. I should meditate more.'_

I sighed and stood, thinking about the smug look on his stupid face if I told him he was right. I grabbed the pillow and tossed it back on the bed on my way to the closet to change into the baggy shirt. Once changed, I slid into the bed, sighing as my sore muscles sank into the mattress. I fell asleep quickly, but not before I prayed that I wouldn't dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

We fell into a routine quickly. Riku woke me up, we got breakfast, I worked on my magic with Maleficent; then a lunch break before sparring with Riku, and finally some time to relax before heading to dinner and going to bed. I meditated every night, and had reached the point where I could slowly let myself down instead of falling out of the air (I had yet to tell Riku that I levitated every time I meditated). It was working out pretty well for all of us.

Then Maleficent informed us she was leaving the next day, and didn't know when she would return.

"I expect you to continue practicing your magic while I am away," she said to me. "You've come too far to lose your progress now."

"I'll practice, I promise."

She reached up and stroked my cheek. "Good, my child." She vanished in her usual pillar of flames, which no longer phased me. I brushed some soot off my arm and looked at Riku.

"For the love of all that is holy, Riku, if you don't let me sleep in tomorrow, I WILL kill you."

He snorted. " _Please_ , Iva, _do_ tell me how you plan to do that when you have yet to beat me in a fight."

I slipped into a fighting stance. "I'll beat you some day."

"But it is not this day. Follow me; I have other plans for your training, since Maleficent's leaving."

I relaxed a bit, curious. "And those are?"

Riku said nothing, but began to walk out of the room, beckoning me to follow him. He led the way out of the room, and instead of turning to head towards the lifts, he turned to walk down a new hallway. This hallway led to what seemed to be the Entrance Hall - two curving staircases led downward onto a large floor, and a small fountain was nestled in between them. The fountain seemed more menacing than inviting - a large gargoyle sat at the top, its mouth gaping open and spilling water into the pool below. A pretty stained glass background made up for it. Riku didn't stop in the hall, though; he kept going towards the giant doors which I assumed led outside the castle. With what seemed to be surprisingly little effort, he pushed one of the doors open, and ushered me outside.

Bright sunlight greeted me, and I relished the warmth. The castle was nice, but I had always loved being outside. The walkway that led to the front door seemed to be rather long, and I thought that it would be a good place to go running.

"Come on, we're not there yet," Riku said, walking to our left and along the wall. I followed at my own pace, looking around at the outside of the castle. I looked up and stopped, staring at the huge heart decoration above the doors. It looked like it had thorns in the middle.

"That's the symbol of the Heartless," Riku called out. I turned to look at him. "Which, by the way, is what we're doing today."

"What do you mean?" I said as I walked towards him. He was waiting at what seemed to be the edge of the walkway, far from the door.

"I mean you're going to learn how to fight Heartless." He raised his hand to a spikey crystal next to him, calling a Lift from below. I looked down to see rocks and water, and thought that this was the bottom of the Rising Falls. "I'm going to bring you down to the Waterways. There's a lot of Heartless there. If you get overwhelmed, I'll be here to help, but I want you to learn how to fight them on your own." We stepped on the lift. "Heartless are unpredictable usually, though different types have different fighting styles. There are two main categories of Heartless: Pureblood and Emblem. Purebloods are Heartless that are made of pure darkness, no heart involved. They include things like Shadows, those ones that look like big ants. Emblem Heartless, however, are what is created when a heart is stolen or has given in to the darkness. Those are widely varied, and can take lots of different forms depending on what world they're in. You can really tell when it's an Emblem Heartless because they have that big heart on them somewhere, the one on this castle."

"Wait, so if this castle has the Heartless symbol, isn't it bad that we're staying in it? Why aren't there Heartless everywhere?"

"Maleficent keeps them in check. I think she can control them." Riku shrugged. "Who cares? But anyway, you might want to focus. I think a few are coming now."

I whirled around to see one of the Shadows staring at me. I shrank away from it, fear gripping me.

"Riku, I really don't want to fight these," I said shakily. Two more popped up from the ground around it. One seemed much smaller than the others, and it ran and hid behind a rock.

"You can do it, Iva. I'm right here if you need saving."

I glared. "I don't need saving!" I snapped. One of the Shadows took a step forward.

"Go on, kill it!"

The two Shadows left jumped at me, claws outstretch. I panicked and jumped away, but one flew past me and dragged its claws across my left arm, leaving long bloody scratches in its wake. It was hard to think; I just wanted them _gone_!

The Shadow that scratched me burst into flames, and it writhed on the ground for a moment before disappearing in a puff of black smoke. The other one that had attacked was now watching me warily from a few feet away; I took advantage of my reprieve and pointed at it, focusing as hard as I could. _Thunder._

A bolt of lightning flew from my hand to the Heartless, killing it. Black wisps were all that remained, and those dissipated quickly.

I looked around frantically. More Heartless were popping up out of the ground. I faced them, gathered my thoughts, and held my hands out in front of me, hopefully ready for whatever they threw at me.

Shadows came at me in groups of three. I found that as I fought, my reflexes were faster, and I had a better hold on my fear. Then their numbers began to increase. Soon I was fighting four. Then five. Then seven.

A group of ten Heartless stared at me from across the waterways.

"Iva, once you beat these guys, we can go!" Riku called to me, distracting me momentarily. I quickly focused and began to take out the Shadows. I started with wind magic, forcing most of them back. Two made it through and another melted into the ground, dodging the blast of air. I threw lightning at one and fire at another, then heard scuttling behind me. I whirled around with a kick and sent that one flying into a boulder, where it exploded. The rest of the group was now recovering from the blast, and I sent a few ice spells their way, taking out two more.

 _'Five down, five to go.'_

The rest were easy work: a few bolts of lightning, a ring of fire, and a roundhouse kick to the face finished them off. I stood up straight, panting, waiting for the next wave, but it never came. Riku walked up to me slowly, his expression unreadable.

"... You did well for your first time fighting Heartless." He glanced behind me. "But it looks like you missed one."

I whirled to see the tiny Heartless that had popped up with the first group looking at me. This one was about the size of a cat, making it much smaller than the child-sized ones. It didn't move, not even when I stepped towards it. This one felt different somehow, but I charged my hand with energy all the same. Something was keeping me from killing it. I took another step forward. Then another. It still didn't move from its spot next to the rock it had hidden behind. I was now about a foot away from it. Perplexed, I raised my hand and prepared to release my magic.

I never got the chance to, though. The Shadow darted forward, scaring me into blasting the spot where it had been sitting. It latched itself onto my leg and... stayed there. It didn't move. It wasn't digging its claws into me. It was hugging my leg.

"The hell?"

"Well, that's weird," Riku commented dryly. I shook my leg a bit, trying to knock it off. It didn't budge, but it looked up at me. It almost seemed to be pleading with me.

"Get... off!" I grumbled, shaking my leg again. This time it complied. The Heartless let go of my leg, standing in front of me and staring at the ground. I thought it looked sad.

With an exasperated sigh I sat down in front of it, making it look up hopefully - no, not hopefully, this was a _Heartless_ for Pete's sake.

I looked at it carefully. "Well, you don't act like the other Heartless..." It nodded, causing me to look at it in shock. "You can understand me?"

It nodded again.

"Sit!"

It sat.

I looked up at Riku, who looked just as confused as I was. He shrugged. "I could kill it if you want."

A scuttling sound and a cold touch on my knee caused me to look down. The Shadow was hiding behind my leg and staring at Riku, its antennae pressed flat to its head.

"No, I think that's okay," I said. The Heartless looked at me and its antennae perked up a bit, almost like a dog's ears. I couldn't help but smile. "I don't think it wants to hurt me." It stood up and clambered over my leg and into my lap, where it rolled onto its back. My smile widened. "Y'know, it's kinda cute." I slowly laid my hand on it, rubbing its belly gently. It made a sound almost like a purr. "How strange..."

"That is way too weird," Riku said, startling me.

I looked up at him with the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster. "Can I keep it?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want, but if it takes your heart, it's not my fault. I wouldn't trust it."

I beamed, then looked down at the tiny Heartless in my lap. I couldn't feel any malicious intent radiating off of it like I could from other Heartless. This one truly felt like it didn't want to hurt me, but it wanted to be close to me. I couldn't explain the feeling. "You won't take my heart, will you, cutie?" I said to it. It rolled over and looked at me, then nodded. "Can you really understand me?" It nodded. "Is my hair brown?"

It nodded. I laughed. "Figures. At least you know how to behave." I picked it up gently and set it on the ground, and then stood. It ran up to my leg and then proceeded to climb, causing me to squirm until it stopped on my shoulder. It nuzzled my cheek, and I couldn't help but giggle. "I'm naming you Chester!"

Riku groaned and turned to the Lift. "Come on, we should go." He stepped on and looked at me expectantly. I hopped on, and we rose back to the walkway quickly. I held on to the stone railing to keep my balance as I stepped off.

"Is this walkway safe from Heartless?" I asked Riku after he stepped off.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Well, it looks like a good place to run."

Riku looked a bit weirded out. "You mean you just want to run along this thing? For _fun_?"

I shrugged, causing Chester to squeak. "It's good exercise."

Riku looked at me like I was crazy, then led the way back into the castle. I was a little sad to be leaving the sun, and I resolved to spend more time outside if I could. I could already tell that my skin was paling, and I preferred it tan.

We didn't talk the rest of the way back to our rooms, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. We said our goodbyes, made plans to meet up for dinner, and I retreated to take a hot bath. All the magic usage today had exhausted me, and I wanted to relax. I pulled Chester off my shoulder and set it - him? - down on the bed. It looked up at me curiously.

"I'm taking a bath," I told it. "Be a good little Heartless and let me relax." It nodded and sat down. _'How cute,'_ I thought. I walked away and into my bathroom to start filling up the tub. Once it was ready, I slid in, sighing as my muscles relaxed. I sat there for a while, thinking about nothing, when a scuttling sound startled me into looking around.

Chester was standing next to the tub, staring at me. I relaxed a bit and smiled, and then reached out to pat his head (I had decided to refer to Chester as 'he' since 'Chester' was generally a boy's name). His eyes closed, and he made that purring noise again.

"You're a cutie, you know that?" He nuzzled my hand, making me giggle. "You know, you seem strangely familiar, but I don't think I've seen you before... I would remember seeing one so tiny, I think... Or maybe not. Oh, well." I leaned back in the tub, my hand hanging over to scratch Chester's head. I closed my eyes and breathed in the steam. _'I should get something to make baths nicer. Like bubble bath stuff.'_

I sat there a while longer, scratching Chester absent-mindedly, until the water grew cold. I was out and dressed at just the right time, as a knock sounded on my door just after I had pulled my shirt on.

"Hold on!" I called - I wanted to try something. I held my hand up and focused hard on the door knob, willing it to turn. My wrist turned to the side, and to my delight, so did the knob. The door swung open as I pulled my hand back. Riku was standing in the doorway, looking at me with shock. I couldn't help but grin.

"Did you open the door?" Riku asked quietly.

"I used magic!" I exclaimed, bouncing in place. Riku smiled softly.

"Alright, Junior Witch. Let's go get some food."

Chester clambered up my leg and onto my shoulder before I had reached the door.

"That is the strangest Heartless I have ever seen..." Riku muttered as he led the way to dinner.

"Eh, he's cute, so I don't really care."

He rolled his eyes. "You're totally crazy."

I smacked his arm lightly. "I am not!"

He gave me a look, but he was smirking. "Come _on_ , Iva. You run for fun, you blow up stuff without meaning to, and now you have a pet Heartless. Sounds pretty crazy to me."

I sniffed, acting hurt. "You're just jealous of my super fit body and my pet Heartless."

"Oh, yes, I am _so_ jealous of someone who can't beat me in a fight."

I hit him again, harder this time. "I'll beat you some day. I promise."

"Suuure you will."

I poked his side, causing him to gasp and flinch away from me. I grinned. "Why, Riku, are you ticklish?"

His face flushed slightly. _'He's cute when he's blushing - wait, what?'_ "N-no! You just startled me!"

My grin widened, and I stepped towards him, my hands up. He looked at them with panic. "Iva, don't you do it -" I hopped forward and began tickling him, filling the air with his laughter. Eventually he started retaliating, and Chester fell off my shoulder as I tried to squirm away. Somehow we both ended up on the floor, and Riku - being much stronger than me - had my wrists pinned together with one hand and was tickling me with the other. I kept trying to get away, laughing, until I realized that it was futile.

"Okay, okay! I give!" I squealed through my laughter. Riku hesitated, then poked me once more before releasing me and rolling over to catch his breath. His left hand was still sitting on my wrists. I moved to sit up, leaning against the wall next to him, gasping for air. I laughed a little.

"Tickle wars are... a lot more... fun when... _both_ sides are... ticklish," I said between pants.

Riku laughed. "Why do you say that?"

I turned my head to look at him, realizing how close we actually were - our shoulders were almost touching. I tried to ignore the heat forming in my cheeks as I spoke. "Well, I've never gotten in a tickle fight with someone who was _actually_ ticklish. It tends to be a little one-sided, and can be more torture than fun."

Riku turned his head to me and smiled. I felt my cheeks get hotter, and I hoped he attributed it to the war we just had. "Well, I'm glad you had fun," he said. His stomach growled, making us both laugh. Once again, I found myself thinking how nice his laugh was. "I guess I forgot how hungry I really was."

I laughed lightly and looked down, my breath catching my throat. Neither of us had moved our hands from where Riku had pinned me, and somehow his fingers had curled under mine, so he was lightly grasping my hand. Thankfully, Chester saved me from doing or saying anything, as he chose that exact moment to clamber into my lap and demand my attention. I lifted my free hand to scratch his head. I heard Riku shift, and his hand tightened around mine, pulling my palm to his. My face felt like it was on fire as his fingers laced through mine tentatively. He squeezed my hand gently, and I squeezed back, trying to let him know that this was okay. He leaned forward slightly.

"What's it feel like to pet that thing?"

"His name is Chester, thank you very much," I replied in a pompous voice. "He's kinda cold. You can pet him if you want."

I felt Riku's eyes on me, but I refused to look up when my face was this hot. He reached over with his right hand slowly, stopping a few inches from Chester, who looked at him warily. The tiny Heartless looked up at me.

"It's alright," I told him. "Go on, Riku won't hurt you." Chester turned back and gently pressed his head to Riku's hand. I heard a breath escape Riku as he patted Chester gently.

"You're right, it is cold."

"Weird, huh?" I waited until he withdrew his hand to speak again. "Ready to eat now?"

"Definitely." His hand loosened from mine, and I took the signal to let go. He stood while I relocated Chester to my shoulder, then offered his hand to help me up. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet, but he didn't let go. I smiled and felt my cheeks heat up again as we walked down the hallway to get dinner. We didn't speak much while eating, and it wasn't until we were leaving the dining hall that I thought of something.

"Hey, Riku," I said, shifting Chester in my arms - for some reason, he had demanded to be carried, "What kind of stuff is in this castle, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Not much, really. It's kinda falling apart, so some parts of the castle are blocked off by broken pipes and stuff. It's mostly empty rooms and hallways. There's Maleficent's room - that's where I found you and where Maleficent deals with her group of creeps - and it's the only really creepy part of the castle. There's a church on one of the upper floors, and a library on the first floor -"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Riku took a few more steps before he realized I was no longer following him, and he turned to look at me curiously. I stared at him, my eyes wide.

"There's a library?"

"Well, yeah. You expect a castle like this to _not_ have a library?"

" _Why didn't you tell me there was a library?!_ "

"I-I didn't know you liked libraries so much."

I closed the distance between us and grabbed his arm, holding Chester tightly to my chest with my other arm. I tried to ignore how nice Riku's arms were. "Take me there."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You want to go there _now_?"

I tightened my grip on his arm. "Take. Me. There."

He laughed and used his right hand to peel mine off his arm and relocate it to his left hand. Our fingers laced together, making me blush. He smiled at me, seeming a little shy. "Alright, come on. It's this way."

He brought me through hallways I didn't recognize, but suddenly we were in the entrance hall. He turned right through a large oak door. To my right were a few bookshelves. I was a little disappointed at how small this room was.

"Is this it?"

Riku chuckled. "Check your left."

I looked over and nearly dropped Chester. He climbed up to my shoulder, expressing his distaste by digging his claws in slightly, but I hardly noticed. My hand slipped from Riku's absently as I stepped forward.

I had never seen so many books in one place! I realized that the area Riku had brought me to was simply a small balcony, with a few bookshelves and a desk to read at. The lower area was huge, with the shelves reaching almost to the ceiling. I saw ladders that reached up to the tops of the shelves, and I felt excitement course through me.

I hadn't realized that I was still walking until I kicked a chair and stumbled. I heard Riku laughing behind me, and I whirled around, grinning.

"Riku, this is _amazing_!" I pulled Chester from my shoulder and set him down on the table, and then darted to the nearest bookshelf. I was in luck - the titles suggested these books were all about magic. I sighed, running my fingers along the spines.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a bookworm," Riku said behind me. I turned around and saw he was smiling.

"Why not?"

"You're just too -" his cheeks turned a little pink. "You don't look bookish."

"Reading is one of my favorite hobbies!" I said, twirling back around to the bookcase. I read the titles a little more carefully, and pulled out "Spells for Beginners," hugging it to my chest. I turned back around, beaming. "Riku, _really_ , thank you so much for showing me this!"

He smiled. "You're welcome. Can we go back up now? I'm tired."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright. Lead the way, sleepyhead."

We made our way back in near silence, mainly due to the fact that I had already stuck my nose in the spellbook, flipping to random pages to see what was in store. I walked quickly, eager to begin practicing. Riku had his hand on my elbow, steering me and preventing me from running into anything. Chester sat on my shoulder, tapping his claws on my collarbone as if he were upset that I wasn't carrying him.

We reached my room faster than I expected. I looked up from my book, confused. Riku was smirking.

"Huh?"

"We're here, bookworm."

"Oh. Well, thanks again for bringing me to the library! I'll have to figure out how to get there on my own," I mused.

"Judging by your reaction, I don't think I'd ever see you again if you figured that out," Riku chuckled.

"Nah, you'd see me. I still have to practice fighting, remember? I'm never gonna beat you if I don't practice."

"Eh, I guess you're right." He turned and raised his hand in a little wave. "Well, 'night."

I waved back as he walked away. "G'night!" I called before retreating to my room. I practically jumped on my bed, sitting cross-legged with the book open in front of me. Chester hopped off my shoulder and sat next to my knee. I gave him a pat on the head, and then focused on the book.

 _"Chapter One: Telekinesis_

 _Telekinesis is one of the most useful tools for a mage. It allows us to manipulate our surroundings - and not just physical objects, either. An experienced mage can manipulate the very air around us and use it to form barriers or weapons. The same can be done with water, or anything else flexible._

 _Keep in mind - this book is not written for warriors who learned the basic offensive magic, or for those who struggle to cast the simplest spells. This book is for those who can feel magic running through their veins, for those who can do what most others cannot, and for those who most likely felt the touch of magic from an early age._

 _If that applies to you, dear reader, then take the first step in your journey - it's a simple step, and it opens the door to many opportunities. Let's start with something simple - this very book. Reach inside yourself, and use your magic to turn the page without your hands. Go on, you can do it!"_

I did as the book said - the page turned with a simple thought. I lost myself in my magic. I wasn't really aware of what I was doing, just that the flow of energy within me felt amazing. Before I knew it, I had reached the end of the chapter. I closed the book and grinned down at Chester, only to see that he was no longer there. I looked around in confusion and saw him hovering above the foot of the bed, kicking his legs furiously. I had forgotten that I had used him to practice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, waving away the power holding him up with a thought. He plopped down softly on the bed, gave me a disgruntled look, and curled up on the corner of the bed with his head turned away. As I looked around the room, I saw multiple objects floating through the air - part of the chapter had talked about multitasking, and it seemed I was good at it. I sent each object back to its place with a thought and a wave of my hand - I found it was much easier to control my magic when I had a visual aid. I looked down at the book with a smile. I raised my hands, willing the book to follow, and sent it to rest on the vanity.

"Well, Chester, I'd say that's a marked improvement, wouldn't you?"

He raised his head to look at me, then laid back down. I realized he was ignoring me.

"Aw, come on," I said, scooting closer. "I said I was sorry." I poked his leg a few times. He still didn't respond. I reached a little farther and scratched his head, causing him to make that purring sound. I pulled my hand away, and he turned and follow it, making me smile.

"I guess you can't stay mad for too long, huh?" He nuzzled my hand. I pulled him into my lap and rubbed his belly. "You're so spoiled... And I haven't even had you for a full day." I looked up and yawned, suddenly tired. I thought about meditating, but decided against it - I was way too tired, and my mind was filled with thoughts of today, like holding hands with Riku. I shook my head to clear it and looked back down at Chester.

"Well, buddy, I'm gonna get ready for bed." He looked at me curiously as I picked him up and set him beside me before I stood. I changed into Riku's too-big shirt, brushed my teeth, and threw back the covers to fall into bed. Chester curled up next to my stomach once I settled in.

"Don't go stealing my heart while I sleep," I muttered before drifting off.

 _The sun was shining brightly, making the playground vibrant. A little girl with long blond hair was running around in circles with her friends when she fell and scraped her arm. Her friends, unaware of her plight, continued without her, leaving her sniffling in the dust. She sat up and cradled her arm to her chest, tears leaking down her face from the pain._

 _"_ Hey, are you okay? _"_

 _The girl looked up to see a boy from a different day-care class. His hair was a lighter blond than hers, and his eyes were the color of the sky on a cloudless day. The girl sniffed and looked down at the scrape on her arm. The boy knelt down in front of her, touching her wrist lightly._

 _"_ My mommy says that kisses help boo-boos heal, but then you gotta get 'em cleaned by a adult. _" He planted a sloppy kiss on her arm and stood, offering his hand to help her up. She wiped the tears from her face and took it, smiling._

 _"_ I'm Dylan. What's your name? _"_

 _She sniffed once more. "_... Iva. _"_

 _"_ Iva, go! Take Kara and get out of here! _" Dylan yelled, bringing his pipe down on the head of another monster._

 _"_ Kara's safe! Dylan, please, let's go! Come with me! _" Iva yelled back. Dylan whirled around to face her, panting._

 _"_ I can't! I have to protect the kids - _" His sentence was cut off when a metal claw tore through his chest._

I woke with a start, bolting upright and gasping for air. Tears were streaming down my face. I attempted to free myself from the tangle of sheets, but eventually gave up and fell to my side, curling up in a ball.

Why, oh _why_ did I have to dream about him? About how we first met? About how he - I stopped that thought in its tracts, biting back a sob. Chester stepped into my view, looking at me with worry. He slowly and gently placed his hand - or was it a paw? - on my cheek, effectively rubbing away the tears. In spite of my current emotion, I smiled.

"You're sweet, you know that?" Chester replied by nuzzling my forehead. I closed my eyes and took a while to gather myself and calm down, then sat up and slowly detangled myself from the sheets. They clung to my sweaty skin, and I peeled the, off and got out of bed to walk to the balcony.

By the look of the sky, it was nearing dawn. I sighed. _'Figures. I wanted to sleep in, and here I am, up at the crack of dawn.'_ I leaned against the railing, relaxing at the sound of the Falls. I resolved to spend today exploring and sparring with Riku - but first, I had to calm down. I sat on the balcony and began to meditate, trying not to lose my focus as I felt myself rise. My mind cleared, and I dared to open my eyes and watch the water as I floated. It was a bit harder, but manageable, and I decided to meditate with my eyes open from now on.

The sun was peeking out over the Falls when I prepared to set myself down, but a loud _bang_ startled me, and I fell to the floor heavily. I groaned in pain, and then turned around to see what all the fuss was about. Riku was standing in the doorway, looking shocked and... disappointed. I stood, wincing at the pain in my tailbone.

"Why'd you have to barge in here like that? I'm not even fully dressed," I complained. I _wasn't_ dressed - I hadn't bothered to pull on pants yet, so the only thing covering me was Riku's baggy T-shirt. He seemed to suddenly realize this, as he looked away, blushing. _'Cute.'_

"We really should get you some proper pajamas," he said. I put my hands on my hips.

"You're dodging the question. What are you doing here this early?"

"Well, I uh..." He put a hand behind his neck, looking at the ground sheepishly. "I was going to, uh... wake you up because you told me not to."

I walked to my closet, closing the door partially so he couldn't see me changing. "I thought I said I'd kill you if you didn't let me sleep in."

"Well, it doesn't really matter now since you're already up. What has you awake so early, anyway? And what were you doing when I came in?"

I stepped out and walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. "... I was meditating," I said as I turned the water on. When I finished, I turned to leave, only to find Riku blocking the bathroom door. He was grinning at me.

"So you _did_ take my advice! Does it help?"

I pushed on his shoulder to move him out of the way and went to sit on the edge of the bed next to Chester. He crawled in my lap happily.

"I guess so. Magic comes a lot more easily to me know. I think I made like a barrier or something against it because I was afraid of breaking things, so I had to get rid of that. I don't know if it'll still freak out when I have major mood swings, though."

Riku sat down next to me and gave Chester a pat. "You still have one more question to answer," he said.

"Do I?"

"Mmhmm. Why were you up so early?"

"I told you, I was meditating."

He put his hand on my arm. "That's not why you were up."

I looked away. "Bad dream," I said finally.

"Oh." His hand trailed down to mine. "I'm sorry."

I squeezed his hand. "It's alright."

We sat in silence for a moment before Riku spoke up. "So, what do you wanna do today?"

"I wanna explore the castle," I said, standing. Chester clung to my shirt and made his way to my shoulder. Riku stood with me, refusing to let go of my hand.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Only if you'll spar with me at some point today."

"Alright, but you have to come to Traverse Town with me to get you some pajamas."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Deal."

We spent most of the day wandering the castle. By midday, I had accidentally found the library, then spent the next hour retracing my steps and memorizing the route. We ate lunch a little late, and once the food had settled, we made our way to the training room to spar. Riku beat me easily, but I felt less bruised than before, and I had actually managed to knock him on his back. We rested, then went back to exploring. By the time we decided to eat dinner, I had managed to figure out the Lift Stops, and knew how to go to my room, the library, the training room, the kitchen, and the entrance hall (and, by extension, the outside of the castle).

My stomach growled, and I began to walk towards the kitchen to get food. Riku, who had been holding my hand most of the day, held me back.

"Hey, why don't we get dinner in Traverse Town? We're already gonna be there to get you some pajamas."

I turned to face him and put my free hand on my hip, smiling softly. Chester pawed at my leg, but I ignored him. "Why, Riku, are you asking me out on a _date_?"

His cheeks went red. "N-no! I just thought that m-maybe something different would be nice!"

I giggled and squeezed his hand. "Something different sounds wonderful."

He smiled at me, still blushing, and raised his free hand to the air. A swirling blog of black and purple appeared, about as tall as we were.

"What is that?" I asked, stepping closer to inspect it.

"It's um... it's a dark portal. Maleficent taught me before she left so that we could get around without her help."

"Aw, but the Witch Express was kinda cool."

Riku rolled his eyes, smiling. He nudged me forward. "Come on, let's go get some food."

I stepped into the swirling darkness and gasped at the rush of cold that washed over me. The temperature reminded me of Chester. A pang of fear went through me, but I tried to shake it off. A few seconds later, I walked into muggy, warm air, and I blinked, aware that I was suddenly in an alley in Traverse Town. Riku stepped out beside me, and I felt the portal's presence disappear. A shaking on my leg caused me to look down, and I saw that Chester had tagged along.

"Oh, I don't think you should be here, Chester." He looked up at me sadly. "Go wait back at the castle. Go on." He stepped back and flattened to the ground, then vanished. "Huh. He actually listened to me."

Riku took my hand, turning my attention back to him. "Come on! Food!" He began walking, and I couldn't help but smile as I was pulled along.

We ended up eating at a small cafe in Second District (I would have to remember this place - the grilled sandwiches were to die for). Riku then brought me to the same clothing store that we went to before, and I wondered if that ultra-cheerful girl was working again. I recalled that her name was Stephanie.

I didn't have to wonder for long - the minute we walked in, the little brunette tornado descended upon us.

"Hey, welcome back!"

I smiled. "Hey, Stephanie. How are you?"

"I am _wonderful_ , thank you, um... I'm so sorry, I don't think I ever got your name!" She put her hand on the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm Iva! Sorry I never introduced myself." I glanced at Riku, who gave no sign of speaking up. "This is Riku."

"Well, I'm glad I know your names now," Stephanie said cheerfully. "What brings you back here?"

"I need pajamas. It gets a little cold sleeping in just a T-shirt."

Stephanie giggled and motioned to the back of the store. "Pajamas are back there. You're in luck; they're actually on sale!"

I smiled at her and began walking. "Thanks a bunch!"

"If you need anything, just let me know!"

I waved over my shoulder and turned to the pajamas display. A sign sat on top of the shelves with '20% OFF' written in big letters. I quickly settled on two sets, one with shorts and one with long pants, and turned to Riku.

"Do you think two will be enough?"

Riku shrugged. "That depends on you, I guess."

"Well, I think this is plenty."

Stephanie was waiting for us at the cash register again.

"Did you find everything okay?"

"Yup! Thanks!"

Stephanie grinned and gave Riku his change. "Well, have a nice evening! Come back and visit soon, okay?"

I nodded and took the bag from her hand. "You have a nice night, too!"

Riku led the way out of the store and back into the plaza. He walked towards the alley that we came from and halted, staring up at the sky. He turned to me quickly, his eyes bright.

"Hey, let's get on a roof!"

I stared at him. "What? Why?"

He looked back up. "To look at the stars. Why else?" He lowered his head and pulled up another portal. "Come on, I'll take us on top of that building."

I stepped forward, then stopped and smiled. "You go on up. I want to try something."

He gave me a curious look before shrugging and walking through the portal. I looked up to see him staring over the edge of the building at me. I grinned at him and observed the building. There were two stories, the second smaller than the first, creating a small balcony on the roof of the first floor. I determined the balcony to be my first goal. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath...

And felt myself float upwards. I opened my eyes to see where I was going and watched as the bricks seemed to move downwards. I pushed myself upwards, willing myself to land safely on the balcony. I landed with a stumble, suddenly tired. I grinned up at Riku, who was staring at me in shock.

"You'll catch me if I fall, right?" I called up to him. He looked scared for a moment, making me laugh. "Kidding!" I looked back down to focus and realized I was shaking. I hoped I could make it to the top - falling would have been unpleasant.

I forced myself upwards again. Inch by inch, I neared the ledge where Riku stood, staring at me with worry. I felt my concentration begin to waver, and I wobbled in the air. _'Come on, Iva! You can do this!'_

I lurched forward, tripping over the ledge and falling onto the roof.

Or, at least, I _would_ have fallen onto the roof if Riku hadn't caught me. His arms were wrapped tightly around my torso, holding me up. He pulled me backwards so that we were safely away from the ledge. Even with my feet planted, I couldn't find the energy to stand on my own. I leaned into Riku, one arm wrapped loosely around his waist, the other by my side, my bag of clothes dangling from my limp hand. Riku's grip softened, but he didn't pull away.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. His breath tickled my ear. I nodded, my forehead rubbing against his shoulder.

"Y-yeah, just... really tired for... some reason."

I felt Riku lower his body and moved with him as he slowly sat us down. He kept one arm around me as he sat next to me on the shingled roof. When I finally got up the energy to lift my head from his shoulder, I saw he was looking at me with worry. I smiled softly.

"I'm okay, Riku. Really."

He reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of my face and tucked them behind my ear. "That was dangerous."

"Good thing you were there to catch me."

Riku blushed, but smiled. He looked up at the sky, his expression changing. He looked relaxed. I looked up, too, and we sat there and stared at the stars. I didn't move from his side, content with his arm around me.

I lost track of time for a while. I was so comfortable and relaxed with Riku, and I thought I would never feel like this again. Not after... I leaned into Riku's shoulder, my mind clearing easily.

A while later, Riku shook me awake. I sat up straight, blinking - I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep.

"Iva, come on! Get up!"

"Wha?"

Riku stood quickly and pulled me to my feet. He held me steady until my head rush cleared.

"Come on! I just saw Sora, I have to catch up to him!"

"Sora?"

"He's my best friend. Come on!" Riku jumped down onto the balcony and into the alleyway, rolling to absorb the impact, then ran towards the door that led to Third District. I followed him quickly, curious about this 'best friend' that he had never mentioned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Riku stopped at the edge of a wall in Third District, giving me time to catch up to him. He was faster than I thought. He held up his arm to keep me from passing him.

"Stay here, would you? I wanna talk to him alone." He spoke without looking at me, staring instead at something around the corner.

"Um, okay?"

Riku darted around the corner. I edged forward to look around the wall, peering after him. He had his sword out, a long, sharp-looking thing that was shaped like a demon's wing, and had seemingly just slain a Soldier Heartless. He was standing in front of a group of three people - a boy with spiky brown hair, what looked to be a duck, and a tall figure that had the head of a dog. I shook my head to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"There you are," Riku said, turning to the boy. "What's going on?"

"Riku!" The boy shouted, obviously happy. He hopped up to Riku and stuck his fingers in his mouth, pulling his cheeks apart. Riku waved his hands away.

"Hey, hey, cut it out!"

"I'm not dreaming this time, right?" the brunet asked. Riku flipped his hair out of his eyes, and the brown-haired boy smiled. I assumed that this was Sora, Riku's "best friend".

"Wait a second," he said. "Where's Kairi?"

"Isn't she with you?" Riku replied, confused. Sora looked down sadly. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too." He sounded like he wasn't too confident in that fact but was trying to hide it. He looked up to the sky. "We're finally free... Hey, she might even be looking for us now." I noticed a Shadow Heartless slowly emerge from the ground behind him. Riku was oblivious, living in his own little world, speaking almost to himself. "We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry, just leave everything to me. I know this -"

The Heartless burst into wisps of darkness that vanished in the air. Sora had taken the responsibility to kill the Shadow behind Riku. Riku turned around and stared at him in shock. Sora stood up straight, resting his key-shaped sword on his shoulder.

"Leave it to who?" he said in a cocky tone.

Riku was incredulous. "Sora, what did you -"

"I've been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help." Sora motioned to the other two creatures in his party. They nodded excitedly, but Riku looked apprehensive.

"Who are they?" he asked. He sounded guarded. The duck cleared its throat and spoke in a quack.

"Ahem! My name is -"

"We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you!" Sora interrupted.

"Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed." Riku sounded bitter. I bit my lip, worrying over him.

The tall dog figure walked up and put his hands on Sora's shouders. "Oh, and guess what?" he said in a silly voice, "Sora's the Keyblade master!"

"Who would've thought it?" the duck said.

Sora turned and glared. "What's that mean?"

Riku spoke up, having suddenly acquired Sora's Keyblade. "So, this is called a Keyblade?"

Sora looked at his now-empty hand. "Huh? Hey, give it back!" He darted forward to grab it, but Riku dodged him easily, sending Sora careening forward. He stumbled and turned to look back to Riku, who was holding the Keyblade high and examining it. He nodded to himself, then looked at Sora.

"Catch!" he said as he tossed it. Sora caught it clumsily, but gathered himself.

"Okay, so you're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome rocket. Wait 'til you see it!"

"No, he can't come!" the duck yelled. Sora whipped around, staring with shock at the duck.

"What?"

"Forget it!"

"Oh, come on! He's my friend!"

"I don't care!" the duck folded his arms and looked away, sticking his beak in the air. The dog turned to look at them, and with all the focus suddenly off of him, Riku ran back to me and hid behind the wall. He pressed himself flat against it next to me, staring at the wall across from us. He had a blank expression on his face.

"Huh? He's gone," I heard the dog say.

"Riku?" Sora called. He paused. "Nice going," he said sadly. "Oh, well. At least he's okay. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too!" I heard the group retreat, and when I looked around the corner again, they were gone.

I turned back to Riku, worried about the expression on his face. "Riku?"

"I'm fine," he snapped, stepping away from the wall. A great pillar of flame distracted me from saying anything else, and Maleficent stepped in front of us, looking extremely smug.

"My poor dear," she cooed at Riku, "I saw it all. I am so sorry. I just knew that your friend would only replace you - it's clear he doesn't care about you at all." I scowled at her tone - that wasn't what I had gathered from Sora's words, but the look Maleficent gave me kept me quiet. She reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he shook her off.

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he's more worried about Kairi now." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Maleficent merely smiled.

"Come, my dear, and I will show you the truth." She held her hand out, not as an offer, but as a gesture to follow her. Riku hesitantly took a step forward, then walked quickly. I tried to grab his hand.

"Wait, Riku, just a sec -"

He shook me off and didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. "I should see what she has to show me," he said coldly. I winced, but followed him reluctantly.

Maleficent led us to a small house next to the door to Second District. A large window took up most of the space next to the door, and we could clearly see inside. Sora, the duck, and the dog were standing inside, along with another group of people. They were all talking animatedly about something. I looked to Riku, whose pain was clear on his face, even though he tried to hide it.

"You see?" Maleficent said, smiling. "It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you." She looked down at Riku, who was now glaring at Sora through the window. I was surprised the window hadn't shattered with the force of his stare. "You're better off without that wretched boy," she continued harshly. She bent down a bit to look Riku in the eyes. "Now, think no more of him and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for..." She held her arms out, almost as if to embrace him. He turned without a word to face her, allowing her to put her hand on his shoulder. I stepped up quickly to join them, and in a burst of flames, we had left Traverse Town.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim room we landed in. Riku stepped away from Maleficent almost immediately.

"Wait, child," she called. He halted, but didn't turn to face her. I thought his shoulders looked rather stiff. "I have a proposition for you."

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped.

"What if it meant helping you find your other friend? What was her name again?"

Riku whipped around. "Kairi! Do you know something? Tell me!"

Maleficent smiled cruelly. "I will help you find her - but only if you help me in return."

"What do you want?" he said quickly. "I'll do anything, just tell me where she is if you know!"

"Riku, don't just jump into something like that!" I exclaimed, trying to take his hand. He evaded me, but otherwise ignored me. Maleficent's grin widened.

"Why, I only need your help in retrieving people of importance. Princesses - princesses of heart, to be exact. If you aid me and my colleagues in collecting them, I will help you find your dear friend."

Riku was quiet for a moment. "... Fine. When do I start?"

"Riku, no!" No matter what Maleficent had done for us, I didn't trust her in this regard. She looked all too happy to enlist Riku's help, and I was scared for him. He continued to ignore me.

"Oh, I'll let you know when your services are required, my dear boy," Maleficent said. "Although there is something that I would like for you to look into for me. In a world submerged in water, there lives a girl with a pure heart... I need you to look closer at her and determine if she is a Princess of Heart. I will give you a tool to do so - all you must do is get near her." She turned away with a flourish. "For now, though, I want you both to rest. Iva, I expect you to go with him. Tomorrow I will test you on your magic - I wish to see how you are progressing on your own, and if I need to continue to train you personally." She said the last word like it tasted bad. I took a step back to keep my distance from her. "Am I clear?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

"Good. Now go, both of you. I have other business to attend to."

Riku left without a word, leaving me to scramble after him. He strides were long and quick, and I almost had to jog to keep up with him - I hadn't realized that his legs were much longer than mine. Something caught on my leg, making me stumble. I stopped and looked down to see a small black blob attached to my calf. Yellow eyes looked up at me, and antennae twitched madly.

"Oh, hi, Chester," I said absently. I looked back up to see Riku had already turned the corner and left me in the dust. I sighed. Chester crawled up my leg and onto my shoulder, nuzzling my cheek. "I hope he's okay," I muttered.

I made my way up to my room, stopping by the library to pick up another spell book. I looked at the old one on my vanity and thought about bringing it back down to the library, but I didn't feel like walking all the way back down again. I flipped through the new one, excited to learn new spells. This one focused on purely offensive magic, and I decided that it would be safer to practice those in the training room, and not my bedroom. I did, however, take a stab at the first spell on the list: Blizzard. I felt drawn to it for some reason. _Imagine cold winter mornings, blankets of snow covering the buildings of your home..._

I had a hard time picturing that: Twilight Town, covered in snow. Our winters were always mild - at most, we had to wear light jackets during the coldest part of the day. Still, I tried to imagine it. I tried to think of what it must feel like - tiny icicles falling softly on the buildings of home. I knew what snow looked like, or at least, I had seen it in pictures. White, fluffy stuff, that was apparently so cold you had to wear mittens to hold it.

My hands grew cold, and I looked down to see what looked to be frost hovering above them. I stared at it in wonder, feeding it energy and helping it grow. The frost morphed into an ice crystal with sharp edges. Curious, I sent it flying towards the wall, where it shattered, leaving a small circle of frost in its wake.

"Cool," I muttered, then grinned at my pun. I looked down at Chester excitedly, who seemed to be exasperated with my pun. I rubbed my hands together to chase off the chill and shut the book, sending it to sit on the vanity next to the old one. I flopped back onto the bed, sighing as I relaxed. My eyes slipped closed, and before I could even think about getting up and changing, I had already fallen asleep.

"Dylan! Dylan, look what I can do!" _The little girl bounded up and held out her hand, palm facing up. She carried a small flower, which hovered an inch off of her skin, the petals opening and closing on their own. The boy in front of her stared in wonder._

"How are you doing that?" _He reached up to touch the flower, but the girl withdrew her hand quickly, closing her small fingers loosely around the plant._

"It's a secret, Dylan!" _She looked suddenly sad._ "But... I really don't know how I do it. I think it's the same thing that makes things break when I get scared..."

 _The boy looked worried._ "Break? What do you mean?"

 _The little girl's eyes widened in fear._ "Oh I-I... Um... I kinda... broke a vase... But I didn't mean to! It just happened! Mom was yelling at me 'cause I went to your house without telling her and I guess she was really worried and I was so scared and upset and I don't know how it happened but the vase broke and she screamed and I screamed and I really don't know what happened, I just... I don't know..." _The girl's green eyes were wet with tears._

 _The boy furrowed his brow, then reached out and pulled the girl into a tight hug._ "It's okay, Iva. You don't have to be scared..."

"Iva, come on!"

 _Dylan's bloody hand grasped mine, and he pulled me to my feet as the ground shook beneath us. He practically dragged me away from the school. My leg was burnt, though I didn't remember how it got that way. People were screaming as they died. I saw Christine again, watched her get overwhelmed by Heartless. I choked back a scream and kept running. Eventually my legs gave out and I stumbled to the ground, my knees scraping on the pavement. I looked up at Dylan for reassurance, only to blink as his blood spattered across my face. A silver claw, drenched in red, had sprouted from his chest._

I woke up with a strangled sort of shout. I was sitting upright in bed, sweating and panting. Chester sat by my leg, staring at me with worry. I dropped my head into my hands as tears pooled in my eyes. I allowed myself to cry for a bit - perhaps I had needed it these past few days.

In time, the tears stopped coming. I detangled myself from the sheets and walked out onto the balcony, once again realizing that it was nearly dawn. I sighed and focused, pulling my legs up to my knees instead of sitting down to meditate. I managed to stay in the air even as both my legs left the floor, and I hovered there for close to an hour, relaxing to the sound of the Rising Falls and my own breathing. After I carefully stood again, I realized that I was still wearing the clothes from yesterday. I grabbed new clothes from my closet and headed to the bathroom for a refreshing shower.

Riku was waiting for me when I exited the bathroom, washed and dressed. "Oh, good morning," I offered as greeting.

"You're up early again," he said dryly.

"Yeah, I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

"Another bad dream?"

I looked away. Riku sighed and stood.

"Well, hopefully today will be too exhausting for you to dream. We're going to another world, Maleficent wants us to check out something there."

"What does she want us to do?"

Riku reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black stone. "She wants us to hold this up to a girl there, some chick named Ariel. Maleficent says that all we need to do is hold this stone near her, and tell her what happens."

"That seems... way too simple."

"Yeah," Riku sighed. "It'll probably be annoying and useless, but I have to find Kairi, and maybe she's there. I have to look everywhere." He walked to the door and held it open. "Well, come on. Let's eat some breakfast before we go see Maleficent. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

I picked up Chester and placed him on my shoulder, grabbed my new spellbook off my vanity, and followed Riku out the door. He led the way to the kitchen, where we ate our fill of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I gave Chester a bite of bacon, and he purred with pleasure. Riku rolled his eyes at me. I didn't mention what had happened last night, and neither did he. I figured he didn't want to talk about it, given how he had stormed off.

We met Maleficent in her creepy dark room, where she stood waiting for us. Her skin looked more green than usual, but I attributed that to the lighting.

"Are you ready, my dears? Oh, Iva, I must test your magic before you go."

I stepped in front of Riku, peeling off my jacket and handing it to him, causing Chester to jump to the floor and disappear. I figured I was going to get sweaty, as I usually did when Maleficent had me use magic. The witch stood in front of me menacingly, but said nothing. She only raised her hands, sending a bolt of lightning flying towards me without warning. I flung my hands up, forcing the lightning upwards and into the ceiling. Maleficent's hands moved, and suddenly I was surrounded by fire, the real kind, bright red flames reaching almost to my waist. They didn't touch me, but I could feel their heat, and the beginnings of panic hit me.

 _'Calm down, Iva! She won't let you get hurt... will she?'_

I thought to the most recent spell I had learned - well, the basics of it. I clung to the hope that it would help, and I raised my arms, summoning a cloud of frost over my head. It grew, forming hundreds of small ice crystals. I brought my hands down quickly, sending the crystals into the flames, which fizzled as they hit. It seemed that I had made enough, though, as the water formed from the melting crystals began to put out the fire. Gasping from the sudden decrease in my vitality, I looked to Maleficent, who was staring at me with a sinister grin on her face. Her hands fell to her sides, though one stayed on her staff.

"Very good, my dear... You have done well. So well, in fact, I have decided to give you a gift. I was going to wait, but it seems you would do well to have it now." Her staff vanished, and her hands glowed bright green. The light intensified and stretched, forming a bar in her hands. As the light faded, I saw a new staff, made of light wood with a knotted and gnarled top. She held it out to me in offering.

"This... is for me?" I reached out slowly, curious, but cautious. The wood felt cool when I grasped it, and as Maleficent released it, it glowed with a bluish light. As the light faded, vines of light covered the wood, decorating it with swirls of blue and silver. In the knotted mass at the top sat a polished black stone.

"Yes, my dear. It is a staff made just for you. The stone in the top is onyx - it will help amplify your powers. You can call it to your side whenever you wish, and should you have no need of it, you can send it away to wait for you. It is similar to my own, in that way."

The staff felt sturdy in my hands, and it filled me with a strange calm. "I... don't know what to say. Thank you."

"You have only yourself to thank, child," Maleficent cooed, "but you must continue practicing. You must continue to grow. I can tell you have so much untapped potential... I cannot wait to see how far you go." She called her staff back to her and turned to face Riku. "Now, I must send you to this world submerged in water. Ursula will meet you there and provide you the tools to do what I have asked of you. You may want to hold your breath," she cautioned with a sick smile. I quickly made to stand next to Riku and took his hand, slightly surprised when he didn't pull away. Maleficent held her hand and staff up, and we were engulfed in her green flames. I took a deep breath...

And nearly panicked when we hit water. It surrounded us, pushing us down. I let go of Riku's hand and dropped my staff, which vanished in a burst of light and bubbles. Riku caught my attention and pointed to a light above us, which I assumed was the surface. We swam up as quickly as we could, and I gasped for air when I breached the surface. Riku came up next to me, sputtering to get water out of his mouth.

"What the hell does that witch think she's doing?" he yelled. "Is she trying to kill us?"

"I don't know," I replied as I treaded the water, "but we better find Ursula, and quick."

"No need to find me, dearies," a voice called from below, "I have found you."

A chubby grey face with bright red lips breached the water next to us, causing me to recoil. "A-are you Ursula?" I asked warily.

"The one and only, dears! I understand Maleficent has a job for you two. Well, you're not going to last long in this world when you're stuck with those silly legs of yours. And I know Maleficent asked me ever so kindly to work my magic on you, but... You see, I don't like doing things for free. You're going to have to give me something in return for my magic."

"Give you something? As if," Riku scoffed.

"It is a simple thing, really," Ursula continued. "Just a strand of your hair. From both of you. Don't worry, I won't use it to hurt you, it's for an experiment of mine."

I didn't like the sound of this experiment, but I figured we had no choice - especially once I realized that Ursula was actually a rather large woman with octopus tentacles instead of legs.

"Riku, we need to do this," I said to him quietly.

"The hell we do," he retorted, scowling at Ursula.

"Riku, we're eventually going to tire out and drown if we don't have her magic. Have you noticed that she's part octopus? She can probably breathe underwater. It's just a hair. I don't like it either, but I also don't like the idea of drowning, so..." I reached up and yanked a hair from Riku's head, causing him to yelp and swim away from me. I pulled one of my own out and swam over to Ursula, who was grinning in anticipation.

"I will give you these hairs AFTER you do what you were supposed to do. I swear it. But I'm getting really tired of swimming here, so could you please hurry up?"

Ursula scowled. "Oh, alright, fine, you little wretches!" She raised her hands above water, and suddenly Riku and I were sucked into a whirlpool that pulled us underwater. I struggled, trying not to let the water flood my lungs, but as my legs flailed about, they began to move together, and it felt as if they were fusing. I felt lighter, the water felt more like air, and then the whirlpool stopped as soon as it had come. I looked around, still holding my breath, and realized that the hairs were no longer in my hand. Ursula held them instead, and I realized we were completely underwater.

"Thank you for your help, dears. Go on, take a breath! I promise you'll feel better."

I was getting light-headed from holding my breath for so long, and I gave in and gasped, then froze. The water really _was_ like air - I could breathe again! I took a few experimental breaths, slightly freaked out. I looked over to Riku, noticing his look of shock and his long silver fish tail.

"Riku, look! You've got a tail!" I exclaimed, startled.

"So do you!" he retorted, motioning to my legs. I looked down, only to realized that I no longer _had_ legs. They had fused into a long and sleek fish tail that was a pretty shade of golden yellow. It reminded me of my hair. I also noticed that I no longer had a shirt - or even a bra. The only thing covering my chest was a few leaves of seaweed wrapped around my ribs. I yelped and covered my chest with my arms, embarrassed. "Ursula, couldn't you have at least given me a shirt?!" I yelled, looking around for her. I realized she was gone. "Took off... Stupid witch..."

"Oh, come on, Iva, what are you embarrassed for? In case you haven't noticed, _I_ don't have a shirt _either_."

In fact, I _had_ noticed, and I was trying to ignore it. Without a shirt, I could clearly see how fit Riku was, and that paired with the fact that I was nearly naked had my face feeling rather hot. "W-well, let's just get this stupid mission over with so we can get back to the castle!"

"Well, I have to get used to swimming like this first. We're not going to get anywhere if we can't swim," Riku stated dryly. He dove forward, cutting through the water with ease. I thought he looked like he knew what he was doing, as if he spent a lot of time swimming. I, on the other hand, had not spent much time in the water - I knew how to keep myself afloat, and that was it. Riku swam in circles around the little cove we were in, and after a while, he turned to look at me with a curious expression on his face. "Come on, we need to get moving." He swam up to me, and I felt my face burning again. "What's the matter?"

I looked away. "I, uh... I don't really know how to swim like this."

Riku's laughter brought my eyes back to him. He was holding his sides, his eyes shut, as he laughed harder than I had ever seen, even when I was tickling him. "H-hey! It's not funny!" My comment only seemed to make him laugh more, and he floated there for a few minutes, trying to get a hold of himself. When he finally quieted down, he focused on me, and I couldn't help but notice how bright his eyes were and how happy he looked. He reached out to me and gently took my hands and pulled, effectively unwrapping my arms from around my chest. He didn't look at my bare skin, though - he leaned back and pulled, dragging me slowly through the water.

"Come on, Iva, you can do it. Just imagine your legs are stuck together. Start with your hips, then move down the length of your tail. You'll get the hang of it." He pulled me along as I struggled, smiling at my efforts. At first I merely wiggled in the water, but when Riku swam in front of me and pulled my arms up and then down, making my body form a sort of wave, I got the hang of it. He pulled me around in circles until I could keep up with him, and when I swam past him, he let go of my right hand and swam to my left, holding on to my other hand tightly. He pulled me upwards and we swam slowly out of the cove, and I halted to take in the sights.

The underwater world was simply stunning. Large clam shells littered the ocean floor, and seaweed swayed in gentle currents. Mermaids with seashell bras and mermen with strong tails swam between coral buildings, and in the distance stood a huge castle made of dark stone and coral structures. I didn't want to ever leave this place. The water was so calming, and I felt so comfortable in this new body, even though I was half-naked.

"Hellooo? Earth to Iva?" Riku floated into my vision, his face curious. "You okay in there?" He waved a hand in front of my face. I waved it away, smiling.

"Sorry, I just kinda got caught in the moment. This place is so pretty..."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Well, quit your daydreaming. We have to find this girl, Ariel. This city looks big; we should get started." He swam slowly towards the city, pulling me alongside him. I took in the sights as we moved, running my hands through seaweed patches, staring at hermit crabs as they scuttled along.

We came upon the city fairly quickly. The other mermaids and mermen paid no attention to us as we swam through the streets, staring into shop fronts and pubs. I could hear jazzy music coming from somewhere, but couldn't pinpoint it. Riku stopped on a street corner and held the stone out in front of him. I suddenly wondered where he was storing it.

"Maybe this can help us?"

I didn't have the chance to answer, as a mermaid with long flaming red hair swam past us quickly, bumping into me. She stopped and turned, clutching the bag on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"ARIEL! ARIEEELLL!" a voice yelled from behind.

"Oh, dear! I have to go!" the girl swam off quickly. A small red crab swam up to us, panting.

"Ariel, wait! Oh, Triton will not be happy with me..." He swam off after her, leaving Riku and I staring at each other.

"Go after her?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. Riku nodded, his face suddenly serious, and he took my hand again and cut forward through the water, dragging me along. I caught up to him quickly, and we followed the red-haired mermaid named Ariel as she darted through the streets, eventually swimming away from the city. We hung behind a bit, allowing the crab to follow her on his own, and watched as she shoved aside a rock and swam behind it. The crab followed suit, and I moved forward to do so as well. Riku held me back, staring at me incredulously.

"Iva, what are you doing?" he hissed.

"I'm going to see what all that fuss was about. We need to talk to her anyway, right?" I pulled my hand free and swam towards the rock, Riku trailing behind and muttering to himself about how this didn't seem like a good idea. I squeezed through the small opening the rock had made and into what looked like a little cave tunnel. Riku wriggled in behind me, bumping into me in the dark. I swam quietly towards the light shining from a few feet away, emerging into a small cavern with light filtering down from a hole in the top. I could see the surface of the water shimmering in what seemed to be the setting sun.

"Oh! Hello again!" The mermaid with the red hair appeared in my vision, her blue eyes staring at me intensely. "I am so sorry for bumping into you earlier, but I had to get this away from my father. Look at this," she continued, her voice filled with wonder. She reached into the bag at her side and pulled out a silver fork, her eyes sparkling. "I asked my friend Scuttle what this was and he said it was a 'dinglehopper!' He said that humans use it to brush their hair, like this!" She then proceeded to use the fork to comb through her hair. Riku tried to hide a snicker from behind me. The mermaid stopped and swam away from us, setting the fork down inside a box filled with eating utensils.

"How did you find this place, anyway?" She asked, turning back to us.

"O-oh, um... we followed you," I replied sheepishly. "We were curious to see why you were in such a hurry."

"Well, my father doesn't like me bringing things back from the human ships that sink around here, but I find it all so fascinating!" She twirled in the water, staring up towards the surface with a wistful look on her face. I took the opportunity to look back at Riku, who was holding the stone in his open hand. It looked the same as it always had. I gave Riku a questioning glance, and he shrugged.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself! I'm Ariel," the mermaid said, turning back to us. "What are your names?"

"I'm Iva, and this is Riku," I replied, assuming Riku was going to keep his habit of staying silent when talking to new people.

"Are you new around here? I've never seen you before." Ariel stared at us curiously, searching our faces for anything familiar.

"Yeah, uh... we're not from around these, uh, waters. So yeah, I guess we're new. We're only here for a short time, though," I lied, hoping that she couldn't see through it. She didn't seem to catch on, though, as she simply smiled.

"Well, it's wonderful that you're visiting! Do you have a place to stay? I know a few wonderful inns in the city if you want some suggestions!"

I glanced to Riku, who nodded. "Sure," I said, turning back to Ariel. "We need a place to stay for the night, at least."

"Follow me, then! I'll bring you to my favorite!" Ariel swam quickly towards the entrance, the small crab trailing behind and muttering to himself. Riku and I followed, staying back a bit so we could talk.

"Well?" I asked him quietly. "What do you think?"

"I have no idea," he admitted. "I don't know if the stone was supposed to do anything, or what... I guess all that's left to do now is find Ursula so we can get back to the castle."

I groaned. "Finding her again should be fun. She seems like the type that doesn't want to be found."

We swam towards the city without speaking any more, and Ariel turned around occasionally to make sure we were following. She slowed when we reached the streets, leading us carefully through the thinning crowds. I could still hear that jazzy music playing, and it seemed to get louder as we swam. I pinpointed the sound to a nearby building, which we stopped in front of. Ariel turned to us excitedly.

"This is my favorite inn! I don't sleep here, but the music is wonderful! And don't worry, they'll stop playing once night falls, so you can sleep soundly! Come on, I'm sure you'll love it!" Ariel swam inside, leaving the door open for us.

"Ariel, wait! The King will not be happy about this!" the crab yelled after her.

"The King?" I muttered. "So she's a real princess?"

"I guess so," Riku replied, swimming forward. "Come on, let's get a place to sleep."

We entered the inn and were immediately surrounded by laughter, taking, and music. In the corner of the spacious room stood a band of sea creatures, all playing instruments made of coral and rock and shells. Tables were scattered upon the floor, at which sat groups of mermaids and mermen and other creatures such as dolphins and fish. I thought it looked rather bizarre to see all these animals interacting. Ariel's flaming red hair was across the room, as she sat at the bar, talking to what seemed to be the innkeeper. I took Riku's hand and led him to the counter, getting both the innkeeper's and Ariel's attention.

"Oh, here they are! These two, they need a room for the night!"

"Anything for you, my dear Ariel," he grinned. He turned to us, still smiling. "I only have single rooms available, with one bed. Will that be alright? I'm full to the brim!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Riku cut in before I could. "That will be fine," he said, causing me to look at him in shock, "I can just sleep on the floor, it's no big deal. We're only here for one night." He looked at me with amusement.

"Alrighty! Here's your key, and don't worry about payment - I'm doing this as a favor to my girl Ariel!" he grinned at the mermaid in question, who beamed back at him in return. She turned to us, smiling.

"Well, I've got to get back to the castle now. I hope you guys have a nice stay here!"

"Yeah, and thanks so much for securing this room for us," I said as Riku took the key from the innkeeper. "We really appreciate it."

"It's no problem at all! Well, come on, Sebastian. Daddy will be looking for me soon, so I should get back."

The crab groaned and followed Ariel out of the inn. The innkeeper laughed softly.

"That girl is too spirited for her own good. Good kid, though. Just wish she'd listen to her father more often. He worries about her, he does." He turned his attention back to us. "You guys are on the top floor, so if you wanted to head up now, you'd be far enough from the music so it shouldn't bother you too much, although I'll be telling them to quiet down soon. Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

Now that I thought about it, I _was_ rather hungry - I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I figured it was nearing dusk. I glanced at Riku, who smiled.

"What do you guys have to eat here?"

The innkeeper handed us a menu and sent us to an empty table, where a dolphin took our orders. I still wasn't sure where Riku was storing things, as he pulled out munny to pay for our meals and to tip the waiter. I thought about asking, then decided it wasn't really important.

Later, when our bellies were full of seaweed salads and various sea vegetation, Riku suggested we go to bed. The band was putting away their instruments, and people were slowly leaving the inn, either going up to their rooms or out the front door to go home. Riku and I followed the small trail of people up the ramp (I guess they didn't need stairs since they didn't have legs), and we reached the third floor with ease. The ramp ran flat into a short hallway, the same length as the floors below. Riku looked at the key in his hand and led the way to our room, quickly unlocking it and ushering me inside.

The room was small, but not cramped. Shells decorated the bed frame and a mirror on the wall, and skirted the edge of a small window leading to the street. No window pane or barrier sat in the window; it was just a square hole in the wall, big enough to swim through. The bed was big enough for two people, and I blushed at the thought of sharing a bed with Riku, then remembered that he had volunteered to sleep on the floor. I swam over to the bed, picking up a pillow and a spare blanket off of it and handing them to Riku with a grin.

"You did volunteer to sleep on the floor," I teased. He rolled his eyes, but took the items with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Maybe I should make YOU sleep on the floor."

I gasped in mock surprise. "You would make a lady sleep on the floor?"

"If you can call yourself a lady," he commented.

"Reel in the snark, mister, or I might take away your blanket," I said as I sat on the edge of the bed. It was weird sitting with a tail - I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep like this, since I liked to sprawl out in my sleep. I watched as Riku tossed the pillow on the floor and floated down, laying down gently and tossing the blanket over himself. He turned to me with a curious expression.

"What? Why are you staring at me?"

"Huh?" I looked away. "Sorry, I kinda zoned out, I guess." I pulled back the covers and settled into bed myself, trying not to rub my scales the wrong way on the bed. The blanket was surprisingly warm, and I decided that I wouldn't be freezing in the water like I was afraid I would be. I laid my head down on the soft pillow, giving Riku a sleepy "good night" before drifting off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I woke in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason. I rolled over in the bed, trying to adjust my tail so it was comfortable. After minutes of laying there, trying to force myself to go back to sleep, I gave in and sat up in bed, moving the sheets aside quietly. Riku was on the floor still, facing away from me, snoring lightly. I smiled at how relaxed his body looked in sleep. I looked around the room, slightly surprised at how still the water was when there wasn't hundreds of merpeople active nearby. I drifted out of bed and towards the window, leaning out of it to stare up at the surface. I could see reflections of the moon in the rippling waters, and contemplated going up to see, but then decided against it. I wasn't sure if I could find this inn again on my own, and I didn't want to get lost in the middle of the night.

A scallop swam into my view, passing me silently aside from the _whoosh_ of water as it flapped along. I sighed, thinking of home.

 _'You would love this place... all of you would.'_ I closed my eyes and thought of my lost friends, but didn't cry. The feeling I had was empty, not sad. It dawned on me how completely and utterly _alone_ I was - on a different world, where no one knows me except the person who came here with me. I looked back at Riku, thinking of how fortunate he was. He knew his friends were alive and well; even if that was all he had, it was more than me. Sora and Kairi... I thought how lucky they must be to have Riku care for them so much.

I tried to distract myself from continuing that train of thought - I didn't want to think about what would happen if Riku made it back to his home with his friends. Instead, I thought about the staff that Maleficent gave me. In a sudden burst of light and bubbles, something solid materialized in my hands. I looked down to see the staff in question, the vines and swirls on the wood glowing with a dull light. I inspected the staff, admiring the finish on the light wood and the careful knots at the top - for upon closer inspection, the knotted mass wasn't natural, but in fact carved. The wood twisted and turned and curled into itself, creating a beautiful mess around the dark stone in the middle. The staff felt sturdy and comfortable in my hands, and I decided to begin learning to fight with it when we returned to the castle. I wondered if Riku would be of any help in learning how to use it.

I spent a long time admiring the staff and staring out of the window at the surface before I found myself sleepy again. I focused on the staff, willing it to vanish and wait until I called it again, and in a burst of bubbles - which I assumed only happened because I was underwater - the wood disappeared from my hands. I glanced once more out the window before turning and drifting back to the bed. Riku, I noticed, had rolled over in his sleep, and had one arm stretched towards the bed. I stared at his relaxed face for a long minute, slightly saddened that I had never seen him this peaceful before. Before I could dwell on it, I laid in bed and willed myself to drift off to sleep.

~O~

"Iva, wake up, we need to go find Ursula!"

"Mmph."

Riku gave an exasperated sigh and pulled the sheets down to the bottom of the bed, thankfully without knocking me off in the process. I shivered and opened my eyes just enough to glare at him, then buried my head into the pillow.

"Come on, Iva."

"I don't wanna..."

"Look, I don't know about you, but I'm getting real sick of this tail. Don't you wanna get back?"

I thought about learning how to fight with my staff and reluctantly sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Fine, fine. Just give me a few minutes to wake up, okay?" I said with a yawn. Riku rolled his eyes as I stretched, popping a few joints in the process. I thought I saw him wince at the sound.

Riku waited semi-patiently while I became aware of the world around me. After a while of staring around groggily, rubbing my eyes, my stomach growled. Riku smiled softly in spite of his impatience.

"Wanna get some breakfast?"

"Is that a rhetorical question, Riku? 'Cause that seems like a rhetorical question."

He chuckled and drifted towards the door. "Well, come on. We should eat before tracking down Ursula, anyway."

I slowly and reluctantly followed him, checking the room one last time to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. Riku drifted down the stairs in the wake of a few other sleepy-looking merpeople. The innkeeper greeted everyone with a cheerful "good morning!" and a smile. Riku and I claimed a table away from the gathering crowd, and he swam to order us some food. I hoped I wouldn't have to eat too much more seaweed.

Riku returned a few minutes later, carrying a platter covered with strange sea fruits and a pile of the dreaded seaweed. I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't too happy with the breakfast, either, but we ate it in resigned silence, ready to get a head start on the day. When we finished, he dropped a bit of munny on the table as tip and took my hand, leading me out the door and into the now-bustling street. We started off away from the inn, trying not to get in the way of merpeople going about their business.

Riku stopped on a street corner and looked around in apparent confusion.

"What's up?" I asked, looking around as well.

"I have no clue where we are," he admitted. "We need to find Ursula, but I don't even know where to start." As he spoke the sea witch's name, a few merpeople looked at us with strange looks and inched away. I wondered why they showed signs of aversion to us so suddenly.

A flash of red hair caught my eye, followed by a pretty green tail. "Look!" I said, pointing as the mermaid rounded the corner and disappeared, "I think that's Ariel! Maybe she knows where to start!"

I darted forward, cutting through the water easily with my wide tail fins. I was getting used to being underwater, and as much as Riku said he hated the tails, they were kind of growing on me. I also thought this underwater world was just breathtakingly beautiful, though I wouldn't admit that to Riku.

Riku caught up to me quickly, being a faster swimmer than I, and we chased the red haired mermaid through the streets until we realized she was leaving the town. I wondered if perhaps she was returning to her little cove of trinkets, but she didn't halt at the moveable rock on the ocean floor. She continued through a dark tunnel, vanishing into the depths. We halted at the tunnel entrance and looked at each other.

"Do we really want to go in there?" I asked, staring into the tunnel, trying to find an exit.

"Yeah, I guess we have to," Riku sighed. "I think Ariel will know where Ursula can be found, given that she's actually a princess. Or at least I hope she knows. I don't feel like going on a wild goose chase." He sighed again and squared his shoulders before looking at me. "Well, let's go. I don't want to waste any time." And he turned and vanished into the tunnel. I groaned and followed reluctantly, swimming slowly into the darkness so that I wouldn't run head first into a rock.

I kept my hands stretched out next to me and in front of me, feeling the curve of the tunnel under my fingers. Eventually, a light signaled that I was near an entrance, and I swam a little more quickly to get out. Riku was waiting for me at the exit, and I stopped to stare at the sight in front of me.

Ariel had led us to a sunken ship, walled off by towering coral and rocks. The main mast had been broken completely in two, and there were holes in the sides and on the bottom. I swam towards it slowly, Riku following suit, and saw Ariel through the large windows on the front of the ship. We neared a broken glass pane, and I decided to call out to her so that we didn't startle her too badly.

"Um, Ariel? Ariel!" I called. She looked up with a start, then grinned.

"Iva! Riku! How nice to see you again. How did you find this place?"

I grinned sheepishly. "We followed you again."

Ariel laughed. "You seem to have a habit of doing that! Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually," Riku piped up, surprising me. "We were wondering if you might know of a woman named Ursula."

Ariel's smile suddenly faded into a scowl mixed with fear. "Oh, the sea witch. Yes, I know of her. Why do you ask?"

Riku looked stumped. "Oh, we uh," I jumped in, "need to take something back from her that she stole from us! And we know she's around here somewhere, but we don't know where to find her!" I said quickly, trying not to give away my fib. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Ariel looked scared. "Oh, well... She was exiled from the city a long time ago when she tried to steal the throne from Daddy. I guess I can point you in the right direction, but she's really dangerous... You shouldn't go there. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about us, Ariel. We can handle her, I'm sure of it."

She looked unsure, her arms wrapped around her chest and her face turned to the side, chewing on her lip. We waited in silence for a moment before she nodded to herself.

"Alright. Are you sure you can handle it? I'd go with you, but Daddy and Sebastian tell me to stay as far away as possible from her, and I think I'll listen to them on this one... The stories scare me enough as it is."

"We definitely can handle her," Riku said confidently (and, I thought, with an air of arrogance).

"Okay..." Ariel sighed. "She's right this way, follow me."

Ariel swam through the broken window panes to outside the ship and headed towards one of the sheer rock faces. There was a small rowboat on the ocean floor not too far from us, which she stopped by. Riku and I followed quickly.

"Behind this is a weird button, and I'm pretty sure it opens the way to Ursula's lair."

"Her _lair_?" I repeated, trying not to laugh at the term. It made Ursula sound like some well-known supervillan.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how to reach it, though... I can't move the boat, and the gap here is too small for me to reach it." Ariel stuck her arm between the boat and the rock wall, reaching for something behind it. I could see the strain on her face, but she soon gave up and withdrew her hand. "Well, if you can figure out how to push that, it should lead you right to her... But I've got to get home before Daddy realizes I'm missing."

"Thanks so much for your help, Ariel, " I said, smiling. "I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"Will I see you two again?"

"Probably not," Riku answered, sounding slightly anxious.

"Oh... Well, I do hope you get back whatever was taken from you. Please be careful, though. Ursula really is a dangerous witch," Ariel said, sounding worried.

"Thank you, we will. It was wonderful meeting you, Ariel!"

"And you, too!" She turned and swam off, and I watched her go until she disappeared into the tunnel that led us here. I turned back to Riku, who was examining the gap to find what she was talking about.

"I see the button she was talking about," he said. "It's got a weird design on it, kinda like a sea dragon. But I don't know how to reach it."

"Allow me," I said, swimming forward and pushing him aside. Riku hovered close by, his shoulder brushing mine as I stuck my arm into the gap and reached towards the button, which I now saw had a purple dragon engraved on it. It was out of my reach, no matter how hard I stretched. I held my palm towards it, focusing hard on using the water around me as a medium. I reached for my magic and concentrated on condensing the water between my hand and the button. When I felt something solid against my palm, I pressed down, forcing the block of water against the button and pushing it into the wall. I heard a click, and with a loud rumbling and scraping, the wall beside me moved aside. I yanked my arm from the gap and backed away quickly, watching as the wall of rock opened to reveal a hidden passage trimmed with dark red coral and bioluminescent plants. I got a strange vibe from the tunnel, as if something nasty lay just beyond.

"Ursula must be down that way," I commented, eyeing the path. "I can feel it."

"Then let's go," Riku said, swimming forward without any hesitation. I followed after him reluctantly, and tried to stay close and we plunged into darkness.

I became increasingly uneasy as we made our way through the tunnel, and nearly turned around when I saw hundreds of strange spindly creatures lining the floor of what seemed to be the tunnel leading to Ursula's lair. I kept my tail high above them, trying not to focus on their bulbous eyes that seemed to be crying for help.

The tunnel led to a rather large cavern that looked as if someone lived in it. In the center of the spherical room sat a large cauldron, full of some bubbling substance. A couple cabinets lined the walls, but the room was otherwise empty.

"How did you find this place?" said a voice from behind. Riku and I whirled around to see a very pretty mermaid with long, flowing black hair staring at us with what looked like distaste. Her chocolate brown eyes were cold and calculating, and her bright red tail twitched in the water.

"We're looking for Ursula," I said with a voice more brave than I felt. The mermaid's expression changed from disgust to interest.

"And how can Ursula be of service to you two?" She said coyly, swimming forward and beginning to circle us. I noticed two eels swim in behind her, joining in the circling. Each eel had one yellow eye and one normal eye, creating a rather eerie effect.

"We just need to see her. I don't think it's really any of your business," Riku snapped. I shot a glance at him, hoping that he wouldn't do something like that again. This whole situation was making me extremely uneasy, and I wasn't sure if it was due to the mermaid or the eels or just the location.

"It _is_ my business," she replied, stopping in front of Riku and swimming close to him. He stood his ground, staring at her in challenge. "You see, Ursula and I are rather close. So if someone from the city has found a way to get in here without being invited... Well, you can see the problem." She eyed Riku hungrily, and I felt a strange desire to punch her.

"We know Ursula, too," I interjected. The mermaid glanced over at me with disdain, but backed off a bit. "We just need to see her. She needs to do something for us."

"She must do nothing for you," the mermaid hissed.

"Now, now, Azami, don't get so upset!" a voice called. I recognized it as Ursula's.

The mermaid turned around with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure they didn't mean to hurt you."

Ursula slinked up to her and stroked her face with a tentacle. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. "Don't you worry about me, my dear. I can handle these two children. As it so happens, I do need to do something for them." She swam closer to us and looked at Riku. "How did it go, my dears?"

"The stone didn't do anything," Riku said, holding it out to her. "I'm not sure what that means, though."

Ursula took it from his palm and examined it carefully before tossing over her shoulder with a scoff. "It means that Ariel is not as pure as we thought. A shame, really, I would have liked to be rid of her. Oh, well," she sighed dramatically.

"We need you to send us back now," Riku continued coldly. Ursula scowled.

"Yes, yes, alright, you impatient brats. Hold still." She reached out with her tentacles and grabbed Riku and me at the base of our tails, dragging us towards her. I yelped and tried to wriggle away, but her grip was too strong. She shoved me into Riku, who instinctively wrapped his arms around me. Had I not just been manhandled by a crazy octopus woman, I probably would have blushed.

Ursula released us and raised her hands, which started to glow. A whirlpool began to form around us, and Riku's grip on me grew tighter.

"Have a nice evening, my dears," Ursula called tauntingly. The whirlpool grew in ferocity, spinning us with it, and the world around us disappeared in a blur. Just as I thought I might get sick from all the spinning, we stopped with a lurch, and slammed down into the hard ground. Riku took the brunt of the impact, as I landed on top of him, making my fall slightly softer.

"Ugh..." Riku groaned.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I said quickly, trying to get off of him - but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't listen to me. I looked down at them in confusion and gasped as I saw that we still had our tails. Ursula sent us back to the castle, but she hadn't bothered to change us back into humans. I cursed her mentally, then looked back to Riku.

"Well, we still have our tails. That witch didn't change us back."

Riku muttered something under his breath that I didn't quite catch, but I assumed it wasn't very nice. "Maleficent!" he called.

No response. I thought it was strange, since Maleficent was usually very punctual.

"Maleficent!" he repeated. After a few moments of waiting, he gave a resigned sigh. "Well, I guess she's not here right now. We need to get to some water. We are part fish, after all - it's possible that we could dry out." He wriggled underneath me, pushing me to the side and onto the floor. My tail flopped against the tile, sending shivers down my spine. Riku began to army crawl towards the door, obviously determined to get to water.

"Are you trying to get to the Rising Falls?" I called.

"Yeah," he grunted, inching forward. "It's our best bet to just wait there until Maleficent gets back."

"Then wait up! I have an idea."

Riku waited impatiently for me to drag myself over to his position. He had pushed the door open and was staring down the hallway with an anxious look. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," I said, gasping from exertion, "remember how I lifted myself onto that rooftop?"

He glanced at me, suddenly interested. "Yeah, why?"

I focused on my hands, willing my staff to come to me. When it did, I held it out to Riku. "I was thinking that I might be able to levitate us, and you could use this to push us around. I don't think I could do both."

Riku looked at me like I was slightly crazy. "You really think that'll work?"

I shrugged. "It's our best chance, right? If we are going to dry out, then we don't really have the time to drag ourselves down there. This would be faster." I held the staff up again, hoping he would take it. "Do you have a better idea?"

He stared at my staff, contemplating for a while, before finally reaching out and taking it. "Alright. Just don't drop us, please."

I took a deep breath. "I'll try."

I focused all of my willpower and energy on lifting us. I thought back to what it felt like to levitate while meditating, and started counting my breaths, willing myself and Riku to float about a foot up in the air. A feeling of weightlessness hit me as we rose, and Riku looked at me with bewilderment as he floated above the floor.

"What are you waiting for?" I snapped, already sweating from the effort of keeping us aloft. "Push us!"

And so we moved through the castle, me using all my energy to keep us in the air, and Riku using my staff to push us along. I set us down gently and rested when we had to take lifts, and was extremely careful going down the stairs in the main hall. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at the lift outside of the castle that led to the base of the Falls. I released my magic and we collapsed rather unceremoniously onto the lift, causing Riku to yelp. I was too tired to do anything but lay there - the world was starting to get blurry, and I was having trouble breathing. I wasn't sure if it was due to the magic or the fact that we really were drying out, as my tail was starting to feel really sensitive against the steel of the lift.

"Iva? Are you okay?" Riku's voice sounded distant.

"I'm fine..." I muttered. I thought I felt his hand on my arm, but I may have been imagining that.

The lift jerked to a stop. "Iva, we made it. We're a bit high up, though. Think you can get us a bit lower?"

I tried to focus on Riku's face, but it was too blurry. I blinked slowly, trying to clear it.

"Maybe not, then. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm just... tired..."

Riku crawled closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Alright, come on. We're gonna fall into the water. It's a bit of a drop, so it might hurt, but I don't see any other option. Can you do it?"

I looked blearily over the edge of the rock we were on, trying to focus on the water far below. The longer I looked, the farther away it seemed to be. I groaned.

"Okay, come on, Iva," Riku said, pulling my arm over his shoulders. I felt him pull me close with one arm and drag us closer to the edge with the other. I felt bad that I couldn't help him, but I could barely keep my eyes open.

"You ready? On three, we're gonna fall." His arm tightened around my waist. "One... two..." I took a deep breath. "Three!"

A long rush of air, pushing my hair back and most likely smacking Riku in the face. He turned us around in the air, so that I was on top, and he wrapped both arms around me. His eyes were shut in anticipation of the impact.

We hit the water like a ton of bricks - at least, that's what I felt. Riku probably felt much worse. He groaned as we sank to the floor.

"Riku, are... you okay?" I said, forcing the words out. His arms had loosened, and I pushed myself away a bit to get a better look at him. My vision was starting to get clearer; maybe my main issue was the lack of water in the castle.

Riku's eyes opened slowly, and he nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Are you?" He looked at me with worry.

"Yeah, yeah..." I inched away from him as I regained my ability to move. I was still exhausted, and finding it hard to breathe, but at least I could see again. I held out my hand to help Riku upright, and we swam together to the surface, breaching the water next to one of the little islands that permeated this area of the Falls. Riku crossed his arms over the edge to keep himself up, and I followed suit, allowing my body to relax in the water. My eyes drooped closed and my head rested on my arms.

"Iva? You sure you're okay?" I heard Riku ask. I groaned. I felt a tapping on my head and tried to ignore it, but when the tapping persisted, I forced my head up with a glare.

"I'm just tired, okay -"

It hadn't been Riku that was tapping on my head - it was Chester. The tiny Heartless was staring at me with what seemed like worry. I smiled softly and reached out to pat his head. "I'm fine, Chester. Don't worry about me."

We sat in silence for a few minutes while I regained my strength. Chester had curled up by my arms and seemed to be snoozing. Riku's eyes looked distant, as if he was thinking deeply about something. An idea popped in my head, and I nudged Chester awake.

"Hey, buddy. Do you think you can find Maleficent for us?" I heard Riku move beside me, apparently interested. Chester nodded his head enthusiastically, though I wasn't sure if he actually understood me. "Ma-le-fi-cent," I said slowly. "Green lady with horns, yeah?" Chester nodded again. "Alright. I really hope you can understand me. Go find her and bring her here! But be careful, I don't want her to hurt you." Chester did a funny sort of dance before he melted into the ground and vanished.

"That was a good idea," Riku admitted. I smiled and dropped my head back onto my arms - just that short burst of energy was too much for me to handle. In the back of my mind, I was worried something was wrong, but I was too tired to do anything about it.

"You know," Riku continued, his voice somewhat muffled by my arms, "You might be so tired because you used too much magic. Maybe you just need an Ether."

"A... what?" I managed.

"It's sorta like a Potion, only you eat it instead of drink it, and it tastes way better, and apparently it recharges magical energy. I never carry them because I don't use magic. Maybe we should invest in getting some for you," he elaborated. That did sound like a good idea. I was saved the effort of responding by a flash of green flames as Maleficent made her dramatic entrance.

"Get off me, you filthy thing!" she screeched, sending Chester flying off her arm and towards me. I found myself moving to catch him, and we fell backwards into the water, my head spinning. Riku grabbed my arm and pulled me back up. I released Chester onto the island, where he vanished into the ground again. A strange ringing filled my ears from the head rush.

Maleficent seemed to have gained her composure. "Oh? What are you two doing down here? And why are you still like that?" She sounded almost disgusted.

"Ursula didn't change us back," Riku explained with a scowl. Maleficent looked almost amused.

"She didn't? How unfortunate." She stared down at us with a sick smile. "Well? Did you do what I asked of you?"

"The stone you gave me didn't do anything. Ursula threw it away and complained about not being able to be rid of Ariel," he told her. Maleficent sighed, looking disappointed.

"Oh, well. I suppose we should have known better, given that girl's propensity for defying her father. I might as well change you back," she said, raising her hand and staff. Wind whipped up around us and pulled us out of the water. I squirmed in the air for a bit as my tail changed back into legs with a strange itching sensation. An aura glowed around us, and as I felt my feet touch the ground, it vanished to reveal both of us back in our normal forms and in the clothes we were wearing before we left. I felt a weight on my left hip, and glanced down to see a bag strapped to my belt and leg. Upon closer inspection, I found the spellbook I was carrying tucked away inside, although the book had seemed much larger than the bag was.

"There," Maleficent said, lowering her arms. "I will give you a few days' rest before I ask you to do anything else. We must wait on the others. Oh, Iva, my dear, that bag has been magically enchanted to be bigger on the inside. You can store many things in there."

I swayed, still dizzy from exhaustion, and nodded. Maleficent looked almost concerned. "Are you alright, my dear?"

Riku's arms caught me before I could fall, and I leaned heavily into his shoulder. My breath was coming rather roughly. "I think she used too much magic. She levitated us down here from your meeting room."

"Ah, I have just the thing." The witch's free hand came into my vision palm-up, and I vaguely saw that she was holding out a small blue cube. It almost looked like it was glowing. "Eat this, my dear. It's an Ether, it will help."

I struggled to force my arm up, taking the small cube and popping it in my mouth. It was sweet, almost like candy, and the relief I felt was instant. The world around me cleared as a feeling like ice spread through my body. I shivered and stood up straight, sighing in relief.

"Thank you," I said quietly. Riku's arm was still draped around me loosely, though I was no longer using him for support.

"You must be more careful, dear," Maleficent warned. "If you use too much magic, you could expend all the energy in your body... which would kill you." My eyes widened. "The more you use magic, the more energy you will have. It's almost like strength training or something - the more you work, the stronger you get. Magic is much the same. You must practice more before attempting something like that again."

"I will. Although we didn't really have a choice. We probably would have dried out by the time you got here to change us back."

"Yes, perhaps. It is good you sent your little pet along, annoying though it is." She turned and walked a few steps away, her cloak billowing out behind her. "I have business to attend to. I'm sure you can make it back up to the castle on your own." And in a flash of flames, she vanished.

"Are you alright now?" Riku piped up. He was looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, I think so. I feel a lot better. Where can we get those things?"

"Traverse Town, probably. But I don't think we should go anywhere today. You should probably rest."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine. Let's get back up to the castle, then."

Riku had to help me scale the floating islands, as I wasn't quite strong enough to do it on my own. We reached the lift at the top in a relatively short amount of time, though I was rather out of breath. I took my reprieve on the lift, and Riku led the way back through the front gates perhaps a little more slowly than he normally would. Chester met up with us at the top of the stairs in the entrance hall, and I stopped to let him onto my shoulder before continuing.

We reached my room faster than I thought we would. Riku stopped, his hand tightening around mine - I hadn't realized he was holding my hand. I turned to him with a questioning look.

"Iva," he said quietly. "I have to find Kairi."

"I know."

"No matter what it takes."

I sighed and squeezed his hand. "Just be careful."

"... Yeah."

"Oh," I started, "what are we gonna do for dinner? We kinda missed lunch, though I'm not really all that hungry..."

"There should be a little speaker thing next to your dresser," he said dryly. "Just speak into that and say you want dinner, and it'll appear in front of your door. It's kinda weird, but that's how I was doing it before you got here."

"Thanks, Riku."

We stood in silence for a few moments.

"Well, I should get some rest," I continued. "You should, too."

"Yeah."

"Sleep well, Riku."

He squeezed my hand again before releasing it and walking down the hall to his room. I waited until I heard the door click before I turned to go into my room. Following Riku's instructions, I inspected the wall next to my dresser, and sure enough, there was a small speaker and button embedded into the wall. I pressed the button experimentally, and a mechanical voice filled the room.

"How can we be of assistance?"

I stared at the speaker in confusion. Was this castle sentient? Did it have servants? "Um... can I get some dinner?"

A clicking and whirring sound filled the air before it spoke again. "It will be up shortly. May we assist you with anything else?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so."

"Have a nice evening." _Click._ I stared down at Chester in confusion before shrugging it off and making my way to my bed. I unbuckled the bag strapped to me and sat, inspecting it. It was simple black leather, with a strap to attach to a belt and a strap that went around my thigh. The bag only had one pocket, closed by a simple button. The bag was indeed larger on the inside - after a bit of wiggling, I pulled the spell book out, which seemed to enlarge until it reached its normal size. I set it aside and stuck my hand experimentally into the bag, trying to see how big it really was. I kept reaching and reaching, until my arm up to my elbow was inside the bag, even though the outside of it was only a bit larger than my hand. My fingers grazed the edge of the bag, and I pulled my arm out and closed the bag back up. I sent it with magic to rest on my dresser and added the spell book on top of it, then stood to get clothes ready for bed.

A knock sounded on my door, startling me. I hadn't thought that Riku would come back, so I approached the door curiously. When I opened it, I was slightly shocked to see that there wasn't anyone outside. I glanced down the hall, but saw no one. Something shiny caught my eye on the floor, so I looked to see a large silver platter covered with a silver dome. The platter was sitting on a small tray, complete with a bottle of water and a glass of what looked like apple juice. I bent over to pick it up and brought it to my bed, kicking the door closed behind me. Chester jumped up and pawed at the tray curiously. I pulled off the dome, revealing a plate covered in mashed potatoes, green beans, and a grilled piece of chicken. My stomach growled. I sat down, picked up the carefully rolled up silverware, and dug in.

I practically inhaled my dinner, gulping down the bottle of water to wash it down. Chester was gnawing on a piece of chicken I had saved him. I eyed the apple juice cautiously - close up, it looked too light to be apple juice. I took an experimental sniff and nearly dropped it when I encountered the strong smell of alcohol.

"Is this wine?" I mumbled to myself. I took a small sip and gagged - the taste was awful. "Yeah, Chester, I think it's wine." He looked up at me curiously, finished with the chicken. I set the glass down carefully on the tray and noticed for the first time a little note underneath the plate. I pulled it out, staring at the pretty blue print.

 _Please leave this tray outside your room when you are done!_

I shrugged and obliged, setting it in the same place as I found it. I made my way to the bathroom, determined to take a shower and get all the remains of salt water off of me - I only just realized how gross I felt. With pajamas out and the water running, I allowed myself to lean on the sink for a moment and just breathe.

My shower didn't take long; I mainly wanted to get clean, not to relax. The pajamas clung to my damp skin, and once I was done towel-drying my hair, I walked back into my room, shut off the lights, and collapsed into my bed. Even with the Ether, I was still exhausted, and I fell asleep almost immediately after I got settled.

 _I could hear children screaming._

 _I wanted to scream, too. My legs were burning, one in a literal sense. Kara was sobbing into my shoulder._

 _Suddenly she was gone, and I was back in front of the school. To my left, Christine was screaming as the Heartless overwhelmed her. My track team coach was being torn apart on my right. I could see Dylan in the distance, fighting off a group of Soldiers. I called out to him, but my voice was gone. I tried to run to him, but my legs wouldn't move - I looked down to see Shadows had latched themselves to my ankles, anchoring me to the spot. I screamed out Dylan's name, trying to get his attention, but he couldn't hear me._

 _"DYLAN!" I screeched, going hoarse. "Dylan, get out of there! Please! They're going to kill you!"_

 _One of the Soldiers leaped into the air in front of him, its claws outstretched. I knew what was going to happen. I was screaming for him, desperate for Dylan to get out of the way so that I wouldn't have to see him die again._

 _This time was so much worse. It didn't just rip his heart out - it ripped him apart completely. I cried his name to the sky, tears pouring down my face. The Soldier that killed him made its way to me, its claws dripping red with his blood. I tried to get away, but the Heartless stood fast at my feet. As the Soldier neared, it grew larger, losing its silver armor, until it loomed high above me, its face surrounded by tendrils of darkness. It reached down with a large hand and picked me up effortlessly, unperturbed by my screaming and struggling. I felt it crushing my ribs, digging its claws into the burns on my legs, and I couldn't help but think that I was going to die. All I could do was scream._

"Iva! Iva, wake up!"

Something was shaking me. I could hear a strange screeching coming from somewhere, and then I realized that it was coming from me. I shot bolt upright in bed, my scream cutting off as I opened my eyes. I was covered in sweat, and the sheets and my clothes clung to me like they were glued onto my skin. I struggled against them, trying to detangle myself, only to make myself more infuriated. Panic began to grip at me as I tried to get free.

Another set of restraints was suddenly upon me. "Iva, snap out of it!" I snapped my head up to see Riku, in his pajamas, sitting on the edge of my bed. His hands were tight on my shoulders, trying to hold me still. His arms were red in a few spots.

"Oh, god," I choked, letting out a sob. I felt myself shaking, and my hands tightened to fists on the sheets. "Oh my god, no." I had woken him up. I had been screaming in the night at my horrible dream that wasn't really a dream, and I had been fighting against anything that touched me. I raised a shaking hand to touch one of the red marks on his arm, which was already turning slightly blue in the middle. A bruise. I had put that there.

I didn't know when I had started crying, or if I was crying when I woke up, but suddenly I was in Riku's arms and sobbing into his shoulder, clinging to his shirt as if my life depended on it. He didn't ask questions. He didn't even talk. He just held me close and stroked my hair, letting me cry until I had enough. I lost track of time for a while - the only thing that mattered was my fear and grief. I could feel Chester pawing anxiously at my leg, but I paid no attention to him.

After what seemed like forever, the tears stopped coming. I thought that perhaps I had expelled all the excess water in my body. I leaned away from Riku slowly, reluctantly, and began to methodically detangle myself from my bed. Riku didn't try to help, and he didn't speak, which I was exceedingly grateful for. Once I was free, I stood, my pajama shorts still clinging to my legs. I made my way over to the balcony and leaned on the railing, trying to drown my thoughts in the sound of the waterfalls.

Riku leaned on the railing beside me after a few moments. He stared out into the darkness for a while before finally speaking.

"The day my world was overtaken by darkness," he started quietly, startling me, "I welcomed it." I looked to him in confusion, but he was still looking out towards the Falls. "I was bored on those islands. Sora, Kairi, and I had built a raft, and we were going to use it to get out. I didn't know there were other worlds out there. I thought there might be, but I wanted to know for sure... and so we built a raft. We were going to leave the next day."

He laughed a little to himself. "It seems silly now, a simple log raft to bring us across the ocean to wherever we wanted to go. Now I know we couldn't have even left that world...

"The darkness came in the night. It was like a big storm, this huge purple cloud that swirled with something more than just rain, and for some reason, I _knew_ that it was my ticket out of there. I grabbed my rowboat and made my way out to the island that we played on, and where our raft was stored. Kairi's boat was already there, but I couldn't find her. So I made my way to the place where the darkness was strongest, and I let it take me. I welcomed it with open arms. Sora tried to stop me, I think. He wanted me to stay there. But I couldn't stay, I knew I couldn't handle it if I stayed on those islands any longer...

"I'm not sure what happened to everyone else." He turned to look at me with a dry smile on his face. "I know Sora's okay, and I hope beyond hope that Kairi is. I don't know about my parents, or my schoolmates. I have bad dreams sometimes, too, you know. The first week was the worst here. Everything was dark and scary and I was completely alone, aside from Maleficent, and she's not the best companion. I wanted so badly to get out of there, but now all I want is to go back. I miss my home. I miss my parents. I just want to make sure they're alright. Maybe then, once I know, I can go back to exploring." His voice trailed off as he turned back to stare at the Falls. I was speechless for a few moments. Did Riku really trust me so much to tell me all this?

I realized, after almost a whole minute of silence, that he was talking mainly to help me calm down. I had stopped shaking, and was no longer gripping the railing as tightly. I took a deep breath, and then began to tell him my story.

"I wish it had been so clean for me. It was the first day of school, around lunchtime. An earthquake hit. I thought the building was going to fall down on top of us. My friend -" my voice cracked slightly, "he took a chair and broke a window so we could get out without dealing with the crowd of people running. I ran to the elementary school first - my younger sister, Kara, was there, hiding under a bench at the playground. When I found her, the earthquake just... stopped. I could hear this rumbling, sort of like thunder... and now that I think back on it, I had a really bad feeling, too. Like something terrible was coming."

I took a shaky breath and continued, Riku watching me closely. "That's when it got really bad. The Heartless started showing up. We had never seen them before, so the only thing I could call them was 'monsters'. Three Shadows popped up at my feet, and my friend distracted them so that I could get away with my sister. We tried running, but she was just so slow, so I picked her up and booked it away from there, but I hated leaving him... I was trying to find a place to hide her. Heartless blocked my way many times... I got those burns on my legs while I was trying to save her."

"Wait, and you still _ran_ like that?" Riku interjected. I glanced over to him and then back down at my hands, which were now shaking again.

"Yeah. I had to. I had to save her. So I hid her in the woods on the edge of town, where there weren't any Heartless, and then I turned and ran right back to get my friend."

My voice was starting to shake. "It had gotten so much worse. The school was the worst part. I can still see all those teachers who sacrificed themselves for their students. And my friend, Christine, who got overwhelmed by Heartless. I think her scream was the worst of all." My voice sounded almost dead at this point. "When I got back to my friend, he pulled me aside into an alley to keep us safe for a bit - he had stayed to help save the kids. When he saw my legs, he tried to get me to a medic, but I fell, and when I looked up he - he had - a Solider had - shoved its arm through his chest," I gasped, tears falling down my face again. "It wasn't even clean. Most of the blood on me wasn't mine."

We were silent for a moment. I avoided Riku's face, and although tears were falling steadily, I didn't sob. "That's all I remember. I blacked out then, and woke up here." I took a breath to steady myself, but only succeeded in hiccupping. "I thought I was going to die here. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't talk and everything hurt so much that I just wanted to sleep."

Riku put his hand on mine gently, stopping the tremors. "I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "Your friend... you seemed very close to him. What was his name?"

I shut my eyes, and his face popped into my mind. His cheerful smile and sparkling blue eyes made me want to cry. I missed him so much, and I had only allowed myself a little grief since the attack...

"His name was Dylan." I choked on his name. "And he was my best friend."

"Like Sora and Kairi were mine," Riku said.

"Yes." I turned to face him, wiping away my tears with my free hand. "Riku, listen to me. I'm going to help you find Kairi, and I'm going to help you get home. I may have lost everything, but you still have Sora and Kairi, and I'm going to do my best to make sure you get back to them, no matter what."

Riku looked at me with shock. "Iva, y-you don't have to do that."

"I'm going to! I won't let you lose everyone." My gaze softened. "I want you to be happy."

Riku smiled the tiniest smile, and I thought his ears went a little pink. "Thank you, Iva." He pulled me into a hug and held me there, expressing his thanks through that one gesture. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him back, calming slightly in his embrace. We stood there for a few moments - at least until Chester began climbing up my leg, startling me into jumping away from Riku. Chester clambered onto my shoulder and nuzzled my cheek. I smiled and patted him before looking back up to Riku.

"You should probably go back to bed," I told him. He rolled his eyes and turned to walk out, but I saw a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. Jeez, what are you, my mom?"

"I could be!" I retorted, following him to the door. "I can be very mom-ish when I want to be."

"Great, just what I need, a nagger," he said snarkily, leaning on the door frame. I shook my head and smiled, then sobered up.

"... I'm sorry for waking you up," I said.

"Hey," he reached out and pulled me closer, "don't worry about it. You should try to get back to sleep, too." He pulled me into one last hug, and I distinctly felt him press his lips against my forehead. My stomach did a flip, but all I could manage as he let me go was a squeaky "goodnight." He disappeared down the hall, leaving me flustered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The next few days in the castle were uneventful. Riku didn't mention my nightmare or my confession about what happened, and I followed his lead. I attributed this to the fact that he could no longer hear me in the night - I had found a spell in my spellbook that allowed me to make a room completely soundproof. I cast it every night before I fell asleep; this proved to be a good idea, as I woke up every night with a shout. Chester was now the only one to comfort me as I trembled from nightmares.

Riku was proving to be a very tough opponent indeed. Even with the longer reach of my staff, I couldn't beat him in a fight. I was, however, learning to hold my own, and was no longer landing on my ass. I had reached the point where he would walk away with about the same amount of bruises as I did. The staff, thankfully, was extremely sturdy - much sturdier than the fake swords we used to use. Riku had switched to using his real sword, as the staff broke one of the fake ones.

My magic usage was improving exponentially, which even Maleficent found strange. Every time I saw her, she got this strange and creepy gleam in her eye, as if she couldn't wait to rip me apart and find the source of my power. I had somehow managed to use spells that I hadn't officially learned yet, and I was already mastering second level magic. Telekinesis came naturally to me, and I began to use it almost constantly. I tried to tell Riku about this, but he had grown distant in just a few days, as if he were absorbed in his own little world.

It was almost a week before Maleficent approached us both with news of Kairi.

"Iva, Riku," Maleficent called as she entered the room in her usual burst of flames. We backed away from each other, as we were in the middle of a sparring match. My breath came roughly, but not in ragged gasps like it used to. Riku looked like he had barely broken a sweat. Maleficent strode towards Riku, a fake smile on her face. "I have another job for you, my dears." She looked only at Riku as she spoke. Riku's expression darkened.

"What is it?"

"One of my colleagues has found a Princess of Heart. Her name is Jasmine, and she resides in a world called Agrabah. My colleague requires assistance capturing her and bringing her to me. I believe you agreed to help me?"

Riku nodded, and I bit my lip. I didn't like the sound of 'capturing' a princess.

"Then come with me, both of you. It is time you helped me once more. Do this, and I shall help you find your dear friend." She smiled a little wider as she held her arms out, her staff vanishing. Riku immediately stepped forward, then looked at me anxiously. I darted over to the corner of the room and grabbed my jacket and bag, tugging on the jacket as I stepped under Maleficent's hand. The green flames encased us, though when they vanished, the air was much warmer than they were.

My eyes burned from sudden bright sunlight. Squinting, I buckled my bag to my leg and began to look around. Wooden market stalls lined the street ahead of us, and we were standing in a small alley off the main road that was piled high with boxes. The buildings around us were a sandy color, almost identical to the ground. With the heat and dry air combined, I assumed we were in some sort of desert.

"Well, from here on, you two are on your own," Maleficent said as she started to walk away. "I must meet with Jafar. He seems to have misplaced the princess. If you find her, bring her back immediately to the castle in Hollow Bastion, do you understand?" She looked back at Riku, who nodded quickly. "Good. Use this charm to return back to the castle - it can be dangerous to use darkness to travel long distances." She handed Riku a small black orb that was hanging from a silver chain. "Do try to stay out of trouble." She strode out into the main street and took a left, vanishing from view. Riku looked around us, obviously trying to figure out what to do.

"Um," I piped up, causing Riku to look at me. "How about we get someplace high up? 'Cause then we can see a wider area. These walls are high, and who knows how big the city is."

"That's a good idea," he said dryly. He examined the boxes and jumped on top of one, using it to propel himself farther upwards until he reached a ledge that I hadn't noticed before. "Come on, Iva!"

I scaled the boxes quickly, and as soon as I reached the ledge, Riku began walking along the ledge until he reached a spot on the wall that was cracked. It looked sturdy enough to climb, but I didn't completely trust it. I realized I didn't have a choice, though, as Riku immediately began climbing - I also thought that he had a lot of experience with climbing, as he went up quickly, but it took me much longer.

The view from the top of the building was stunning. I was right in assuming that we were in a desert - this city seemed to be nestled right in the middle of scorching sands that stretched as far as I could see. To the East was a small oasis, with trees shading the precious pool of water. I glanced at Riku, curious if he had noticed our surroundings, but saw that he was intensely focused on the ground between the buildings, obviously looking for our renegade Princess.

"Riku, we don't even know what she looks like," I said quietly as I put a hand on his arm. He didn't respond to my touch. "How are we going to know her when we see her?"

"We'll know her because she doesn't want to be seen." He said curtly, his eyes scanning the spaces between the stalls and buildings. He began to walk slowly across the roof. I followed at my own pace, and jumped when I heard voices echoing from below. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sounded familiar.

Riku backed up so that he could no longer see over the edge and beckoned for me to follow suit. He had crouched against the wall of the city, his shoulders stiff and his face strangely blank. I crouched next to him.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, afraid of my voice carrying to the people Riku obviously didn't want to see.

"We should follow them," he responded in a monotone voice.

"Why?"

"That's Sora," he said, his mouth twitching as he said the name. "With that Keyblade of his, Sora attracts important people. If the princess doesn't want to be found, she will enlist his help. We follow them, wait for them to be distracted, and take the princess."

"Riku, I don't know if I like the idea of kidnapping a princess-"

"I'll do whatever it takes to save Kairi," he snapped, shutting me up. I looked down at my shoes, which were already dusty from the sand. I realized then just how hot I was and that I was still wearing my jacket, which I swiftly removed and tied around my hips. It took a bit of wiggling in place to get it to sit right in my crouching position, but I managed.

The voices were starting to sound distant. Riku stood in a fluid motion and signaled for me to do the same. We began to move quickly along the rooftops, following Sora and his friends. I managed to catch a glimpse of them for a moment - Sora hadn't changed from the first time I saw him, and this time there was another young man with him who looked to be from this world.

"Who is that?" I asked Riku when the group stopped.

"No clue. But like I said, Sora attracts important people with that Keyblade of his. He must be looking for the princess."

We hid in an alcove as the group passed, although I doubted that they would think to look up. I thought the young man that was accompanying Sora looked rather worried.

The group kept moving, checking behind market stalls and inside wooden barrels and clay pots until they reached a set of enormous doors set in a wall. The doors were decorated with gold and silver, but looked to be made of wood. A tall man wearing long black and red robes was standing in the little square, his golden staff gleaming in the sun.

"I think that's Jafar," Riku whispered. "I've seen him around the castle before."

The man who could be Jafar turned around to face Sora and his friends as they approached. Jafar looked menacing and gloating, as if he had just won a game of chance. Clay pots lined the walls of the buildings around the entire group, and I thought I noticed one moving.

"Riku, look!" I pointed to the moving pot. Sure enough, the lid began to slowly open, and I could just barely see a person peeking out from inside. They seemed to realize that other people were near, and the lid fell shut quickly with a clunk. Jafar glanced over at it, then returned his attention to Sora.

They conversed for a short time, and then Jafar lifted up his staff in what was probably supposed to be an impressive display of power, and all the clay pots in the area sprouted legs. I gasped as they began to cluster together in a straight line, with two pots forming a head and tail of what seemed to be a centipede. Huge pincers clicked menacingly, and I could hear a girl shouting from the pots.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked Riku. I stepped forward a bit, prepared to jump to her aid, but Riku pulled me back.

"Jafar would be stupid to hurt her. This is probably a distraction to get her away from Sora. Pay close attention to those pots; if one veers off, follow it."

Sora and his friends began to attack the pots, breaking them one at a time. The centipede rampaged around the square and through an archway back into the city. I realized that Jafar had vanished. We followed the action, and just as Riku had predicted, one of the pots near the tail end darted into an alley while Sora was busy with the head. Riku and I followed it, avoiding Sora's line of sight. Riku began to jump down towards the ground, using stacked boxes as ledges. Once he hit the ground in a puff of dust, he sprinted after the pot. I decided that it would take me too long to jump box by box, so I prepared my magic and leapt off the edge of the building, plummeting towards the ground. At the last moment I forced the air under my feet to cushion my fall, and it felt like I was landing on a squishy mattress. My knees bent on the impact, but I was soon up and running after Riku.

The pot scuttled towards a set of open doors that lead out into the desert. Riku paused at the wall and waited for me, watching the pot scurry off into the sand.

"That's not going to be an easy trip," he said to me, squinting at the dunes.

"If we have Ethers," I said, a little out of breath, "I can keep us cool with magic. I don't think I can do anything about the sun, though. We might get sunburned if we're out too long."

Riku checked his pockets. "Yeah, I have a few. Here." He handed them to me, and I put them in the bag on my hip. Riku then turned to face the desert. The pot was starting to get harder to see, as it was so far away. "We should go now."

I took a deep breath to prepare myself. "Alright. Let's go."

We took off at a run in the direction of the pot. The sun hit me like a slap to the face the moment I left the shade of the city walls. Within seconds, both of us were sweating profusely.

The run seemed to last for hours. It didn't take long for us to lose sight of the city. I hoped that Riku was right, and that the pot we were following really did contain the princess we sought. Riku pushed us until we caught up to the pot, and then he stopped, panting heavily. My feet slipped on the sand as I stopped next to him, sweat pouring down my face and arms. I was starting to feel dizzy.

"Iva," Riku wheezed, "can you make water?"

"No, but I can make ice," I replied. I held my shaky hands in front of me and focused on the Blizzard spell, watching as small ice crystals began to form. They melted almost immediately in the desert heat, leaving me with a blob of water levitating between my hands. I willed it to go to Riku, who eagerly shoved his face in it. I didn't stop to think how strange he looked trying to drink water out of the air, but instead made a sphere for myself. Our thirst quenched for the moment, I then focused on whipping up a cool breeze around us to cool us off. I could feel myself getting tired from the magic usage, but I didn't eat one of the few Ethers we had - I wanted to save them for later if I really needed them.

Riku only allowed a short break before he suggested we get moving again. As we ran, I realized the sun was beginning to set. I hadn't realized how long we had spent in this world. The pot continued on its track, its long spindly legs sinking into the sand as it ran. It occurred to me that it shouldn't be able to run on sand with those legs, but as I thought about it, I decided that a clay pot with legs was strange enough, and that I shouldn't really question what it should or shouldn't be able to do.

We ran until the sun went completely below the horizon. The air was suddenly cooler, making us sweat less. The pot stopped in a large depression in the desert, shaped almost like a bowl. Tall rocks lined the edge, save for the gap that it entered through. Riku and I followed it inside, where we saw it parked slightly off-center from the middle.

Suddenly, the ground began shaking. Our feet slipped in the sand, and I was horribly reminded of the day my world was attacked. The sand in the center of the bowl began to rise as a huge rock shaped like a tiger's head rose from the ground, sand spilling off of it like water. Its eyes glowed brightly in the dark, and it opened its mouth in a huge roar, allowing orange light to spill out. Its jaw hung open, and the pot picked itself up and walked up to the mouth. Once it stepped inside, its lid popped off, and it tipped forward. A person fell out of the pot and down what seemed to be the throat of the tiger, screaming the whole way. Riku and I sprinted to follow her as the tiger began to stir.

We made it just in time. We jumped inside the mouth and stumbled on the stairs just as the jaws slammed shut behind us. I felt as if I was sinking, and I assumed that the tiger's head was moving back under the sand. The pot, which had previously held so much life, lay knocked over on the stone tongue, its legs broken.

When the shaking stopped, Riku gestured for us to move on. Slightly anxious, I began to follow him down a long set of stairs, lit only by an orange glow from the end of the staircase. I wondered how we were going to get out, and then remembered the charm that Maleficent gave Riku. I hoped it would work if we were underground.

The glow intensified as we neared the end of the staircase. Once we reached the bottom and entered through the archway, I realized that the glow was from countless torches lining the walls of a huge cavern. A pathway of stone lined the wall to our left, with pretty tile mosaics and strange statues on the wall. To our right, the path cut off, leaving over half the room with no floor. I walked up to the edge and glanced down, and immediately backed away - it was a pitch black abyss, and I didn't want to know how far down it went.

Riku began slowly walking towards the other end of the cavern - for now that I looked that way, I saw a doorway across the room. I followed, and shouted when one of the statues shot a strong jet of water at me, further drenching my clothes. Riku looked back in a panic, and then laughed.

"It's not funny!" I said, looking down at my now-dripping shirt. I guessed that the water couldn't have been too bad - maybe it rinsed out some of the sweat.

We made our way to the next room (I was careful to avoid the statues now), and found it to be quite similar to the first, except at the end of the path was a large golden door. It hung ajar, as if someone had recently been inside. We moved towards it quickly and entered as quietly as we could.

My jaw fell open as I saw the room. Gold glittered on every surface; golden coins, statues, and trophies; gold pillars holding up the ceiling; golden monkeys holding crystals the size of large eggs. The light from the torches danced off the metal in a spectacular display of sheer greed. The gold coins were in piles that were taller than I was. Unable to resist the urge, I shoved my hand into a pile, sending an avalanche of coins to my feet. They were cool to the touch.

Riku grabbed my arm, snapping me out of my trance. I quickly pulled my hand back, sheepish, and more coins fell to the floor. He then pulled me farther into the room, where we saw a tall black door.

"Where is she?" Riku asked, almost to himself. I looked around and remembered that we were in here because we were supposed to be capturing her.

"Maybe she's in there?" I suggested, pointing to the door in front of us. Riku walked up to it and attempted to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Well, if I can't open it, she probably can't," he stated. He was about to say something else, but echoing voices interrupted him. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but I thought they were coming from behind the door.

"Someone's in there, at least," I said.

Riku looked at the door, puzzled, when I heard familiar voices coming from behind us. He whipped around, looking nervous.

"Iva, we need to hide."

"Where? In the coins?" I said sarcastically.

"... Actually, that's not a bad idea. Come on!" He grabbed my elbow and dragged me behind a pile of coins, into which he attempted to bury himself. I giggled when I realized it wasn't working.

"Here," I said, holding my hands up, "I can cover us, but we should probably lay down."

Riku followed my suggestion and lay down on the ground, and I flattened myself next to him. I then used telekinesis to move as many coins on top of us as we could stand, until a small mount had buried us completely. We couldn't see, but I was confident that we wouldn't be seen, either.

The voices grew louder.

"I hope Jasmine is alright," I heard a strange voice say.

"Don't worry! I'm sure she's fine!" I recognized Sora's voice. My thoughts went to Riku.

"What's that?" said a lisping voice. Was that the duck?

"That leads to the Lamp Chamber," the strange voice said again. I assumed this was the stranger that was with Sora in the city.

I heard grunts and scuffles on the floor. "It won't open!" said a goofy voice.

"Here, this oughta do it," Sora responded confidently. _Click._ A loud grating sound reached my ears, which I assumed was the door opening. "There!"

"Thanks, Sora!" said the strange voice again. Their footsteps echoed for a short time until they disappeared entirely. I waited a few more moments to make sure they were gone before I moved, sending coins cascading down to the floor. I heard Riku move beside me, and soon we were both standing in a pile of coins and staring at the open door in front of us. I moved to enter the room, but Riku held me back.

"No, we should wait," he said over the voices of Jafar and Sora that were echoing to us. "If Jasmine tries to leave, we can catch her here. If Jafar can draw them away, we can catch her in there. Let's just watch and wait."

So we did. Riku crouched on one side of the door, and I crouched on the other. I could see snippets of the battle between Sora and Jafar - Jafar was levitating around the room, occasionally shooting spells from his staff, and a large blue mass was circling the group, sometimes covering his face with his hands and shooting spells blindly. I assumed that the blue thing and Sora's friends all knew each other, as it seemed to be warning them of attacks.

I inched forward a bit to get a better view of the room. Off to one side was a platform, and set into the wall was an etching of a keyhole. A girl with long black hair and a blue outfit on was cowering beside it - I assumed it was Jasmine.

After some time, Jafar landed in the center of the room. I watched as he pulled a shiny object from his robes and called out to the blue thing - he called it 'Genie' - and made a wish. Black, billowy smoke began to surround Jafar, and a menacing cackle filled the air. The ground shook as the center of the room began to sink, plunging Jafar - who was now bigger than Genie and bright red - and Sora and his friends into a room below. Although it was warm in the caverns, I felt chills go up my spine as I realized how much more powerful Jafar was now.

Movement caught my eye, and I looked to see Riku stand. I followed suit, and he led the way into the Lamp Chamber, which was now empty of people. Sounds of people fighting floated up from the hole in the floor, but Riku walked right past it, instead sneaking around the edge of the wall to catch Jasmine by surprised. I followed quietly, and tried to climb up onto the platform as silently as possible.

Jasmine must have heard us. She stumbled to her feet as she faced us, clearly scared. "W-who are you?"

Riku looked like he was going to speak, but I interrupted him. "We're here to help." Riku shot me a look, but stayed silent.

"What do you mean?"

"We can get you away from Jafar, but you have to come with us, quickly," I said, inching towards her. I held my hand out. "We won't hurt you, I promise."

"How do you know about Jafar? I've never seen you before..."

"There's no time to explain," Riku chimed in, stepping forward. "You'll just have to trust us, but you better hurry. Jafar's really powerful now, he could seriously hurt you."

Jasmine looked at us warily for a moment, and then gave in. "A-alright..."

"Come here," Riku said, pulling the charm Maleficent gave him out of his pocket. As soon as Jasmine had stepped forward, the charm began to glow, and I felt a strange pull in my chest as the world around us vanished. I heard Jasmine gasp in fear.

The castle seemed much darker than when we left. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust.

"W-where are we?" Jasmine asked in a shaky voice.

Riku ignored her. "Maleficent!" he called. The witch appeared in a burst of flames, startling Jasmine.

"Oh? You seem to have succeeded," she said, sounding surprised. "I should not have doubted you, then. Good job, my dears." She turned slowly to face Jasmine, who was now backing away. "My dearest Princess, do not be afraid. We will treat you well here," she said in a sickly sweet voice. She slowly raised her staff, the orb on top beginning to glow green. Jasmine froze, and then suddenly collapsed.

"Jasmine!" I yelped, running to her side. I tried to shake her awake, but she didn't respond. I thought she was still breathing. I turned my head to glare at Maleficent. "I thought you just said you'd treat her well! What did you do to her?"

Jasmine moved under my hand, and as I looked at her, she levitated off the floor into a somewhat standing position. She reminded me of a puppet on strings. She floated over to Maleficent, who stroked her face gently.

"I did not hurt her, Iva. She is merely sleeping. All will be well when all the Princesses are gathered." She sounded as if she was talking to herself. She turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Riku called. "What about Kairi?"

"All in due time, my dear," she said dismissively. "My colleagues will convene here soon. Wait for that moment, and then you will find your dear friend." And with that, she swept out of the room, Jasmine floating along behind her.

Riku let out a sound of frustration and began pacing around the room. I thought about trying to talk to him, but decided against it. I sat down carefully on the floor and tried to calm my thoughts, which were going at a mile a minute, giving me a headache. After a few minutes of counting my breaths and watching Riku pace back and forth, I felt myself rise into the air as I always did when meditating. Riku was so absorbed in his own little world that he didn't even notice.

I lost track of how long we waited in that room. As I grew calmer from meditating, Riku seemed to grow more anxious. I found myself wondering just how long we were going to have to wait, but at that moment, the door swung open with a heavy scrape along the floor. I unfolded my legs while still in the air and placed my feet on the floor. Riku stopped in his tracks and stared as Maleficent entered, followed by one of the strangest men I had ever seen.

He was tall, with blue-ish grey skin that reminded me of a shark. On top of his head blazed a blue flame, almost akin to hair. He wore black robes that draped loosely over his thin body. I shivered, reminded of a skeleton.

They stopped in the center of the room, facing the pedestal that gave off a green glow. Riku edged towards them and stopped on the opposite side. I stayed back, wary of the man who gave off such a menacing air.

"That smarmy vizier could have had 'em," he complained loudly, his hand clasped tightly into a fist, "if SOMEONE had stayed around to give him a hand." He glared at Riku, who stared back with defiance.

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?"

"Jafar was beyond help," Maleficent said in a smooth voice, "consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn to fiercely."

The grey man threw his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay? By the way, kid," he turned to Riku, "have we got something special for you."

Riku looked confused. "Huh?"

"We had a deal, yes?" Maleficent said coyly. "You help us, and we grant your wish..." She raised her hand, and an image of a girl with red hair appeared on the pedestal. She was laying down, appearing to be sleeping. Riku jumped forward, suddenly desperate.

"Kairi!"

"Go to her," the witch said. "Your vessel is waiting."

My head snapped around as I heard the click of heels on the floor, and I wondered why I hadn't heard the door open. A man with a long red coat and a cap with a huge feather walked into the dim light, which gleamed off of something in his hand.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage," he said snidely.

Riku looked back to Maleficent, apparently unimpressed. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?" My hopes rose as I thought that maybe Riku had caught on to Maleficent's manipulations.

"Catch? What catch?" She bent down slightly and placed a caressing hand on his cheek. "Silly, boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy."

Riku knocked her hand away and glared. "I seriously doubt that."

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain," she concluded threateningly. Riku said nothing to her, but turned and began walking towards the man in the red coat. I hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Come on, Iva!" Riku called as he and the other man approached the door. I dashed over to follow him, but the man in the coat seemed to be having none of it.

"Oh, I don't think so!" he said rudely. "I never agreed to carry around two landlubbers!"

"Take her with you, Hook," Maleficent called, her voice cold. "Do not argue."

He faltered, then turned and stormed down the hall. Riku and I nearly had to jog to keep up with him, his heels clicking with every step. As we walked into the hallways with more light, I realized that the gleaming thing in his hand _was_ his hand - a large, shiny hook replaced his left hand, as if it had been removed.

Hook led the way through the castle and outside. Sitting atop the Rising Falls was a huge wooden ship with pirate sails.

"That there's me ship," Hook said proudly, his hand on his hip. "That's how ye will find that girl."

Riku was quiet. Hook set off at a brisk trot towards the Falls. I noticed a much smaller boat leaving the ship and heading towards us. Hook stopped us at a large rock near the top of the Falls and we stood in silence until the boat reached us. Inside the boat was a rather fat man with a floppy red hat on. He stumbled out, splashing water on Hook.

"SMEE!" Hook yelled, brandishing his hooked arm at the fat man. "Be more careful!"

"S-s-sorry, Captain!" said Smee. His voice sounded funny. Hook turned to us, a sneer on his face.

"Get in, ye whelps."

Riku stepped in swiftly, barely rocking the boat. When I attempted to get in, however, I nearly fell over the edge and into the water, but Riku caught my arm and pulled me back. When I turned to thank him, I saw he was smirking.

"What?" I demanded. His smile widened.

"Oh, nothing."

Hook stepped in after us. "Get a move on, Smee!"

The poor man scrambled to grab the wooden oars at the bottom of the boat. I sat down carefully as he began to row, slowly bringing us closer to the ship. The rocking of the boat made me a little nauseous. The short trip passed in silence, and when we reached the ship, I saw a long rope ladder dangling off the side. Smee held the rope steady, and Hook practically stepped on him on his way up. Once he hopped onto the deck, he leaned over and shook his hook at us.

"Get a move on, you useless runts! We've got places to be!"

Riku made a sound of impatience and stepped forward, then paused. He turned to me. "You go on ahead, Iva."

I shrugged and stepped forward, wobbling from the rocking boat. The rope ladder seemed steady enough, and it moved minimally as I climbed. I made a mental note to thank Smee for holding it so tightly - I had a feeling that Captain Hook didn't thank him often.

I felt much more sure in my steps when I reached the deck of the ship. I could still feel the ship rocking, but it wasn't as bad as the small boat. Riku reached the deck soon after me, and Smee followed him. The stout man began to pull up the rope ladder and rolled it up neatly on the deck.

"Pull up the anchor, Smee! We're off to Neverland!"

Smee ran off to a large crank set in the ship's deck and began to push. I heard chains rattle against the side of the ship, and watched as a huge anchor was dragged partially onto the deck. Smee set some sort of locking mechanism, and then collapsed by the crank, panting heavily.

"Hold on to yer britches!" Hook yelled as he pulled a lever next to the ship's wheel. The ship lurched beneath my feet, and I found myself grabbing Riku for support as I nearly fell over.

"Let down the sail, Smee! You know the one!"

"Y-yes, Captain!"

I carefully made my way to the rails and held on tightly for support. As I looked up to watch Smee, a huge black sail unfurled from the main mast. A gust of wind pushed it out, and a gleaming white skull and crossbones stood proud in the center.

Another lurch, and a splash, and before I could even register what was going on, the ship had risen completely out of the water and was soaring over the castle that we had just left. I felt my jaw drop as we flew through two spires, and my head turned to watch the castle get smaller and smaller as we flew higher.

I was so caught up in watching the castle that I hadn't noticed our surroundings. Riku tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to look around.

If it were possible for my jaw to fall any farther, it would have. The sky around us was no longer blue - in fact, it wasn't even a sky. We had flown all the way up into space, and we were surrounded by stardust. Space was a conglomerate of blues and purples and pinks that all melded together to form strange patterns. Stars sparkled all around us, and as I looked back at the world we had just left, it began to look more like just another star in the sky. I looked at Riku, who's eyes were especially breathtaking in this atmosphere, and smiled weakly.

"Who would have thought I would ever go to space?" I said breathlessly. Riku smiled slightly, and then turned and walked away from me. He made his way over to Hook, who was standing proudly at the ship's wheel.

I took this opportunity to go thank Smee for his help. The little man was still sitting next to the anchor crank, his red hat drooping in front of his face. As I walked over, he jumped, apparently startled by my footsteps.

"O-oh, can I help you, miss?" he stuttered, fixing his hat, which had fallen completely to one side when he jerked.

"No, no, I'm alright. I actually wanted to thank you." Smee looked at me, dumbfounded. I squatted in front of him and smiled. "I've never been on a ship before, or on a rope ladder. It was really easy to climb up, thanks to you. So thank you for that."

His face turned beet red. "O-o-oh, y-you're w-welcome, miss! I-I was j-j-just doing my j-job!"

I smiled and stood. "You did it well. Oh, actually, maybe you can help me with something." I tugged on my shirt again, still crusted with sweat. "Is there any way I can take a bath or something while on this ship?"

Smee stumbled to his feet, nodding hastily. "Oh, certainly, miss! I'll prepare a tub for you right away!" And he toddled off, entering the ships cabins through a red door.

"Iva! Come up here," Riku called. I made my way over, climbing the steps to the wheel quickly. Hook stared at me with obvious dislike, but Riku paid no mind to him.

"Hook says -"

"That's CAPTAIN Hook to you, boy!"

"that he knows where Kairi is! She's in Neverland, with a girl named Wendy. If we find Wendy, we find Kairi!" His eyes were hopeful.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you find her," I reassured him. He smiled at me, and then got serious. He turned to face Hook again, his dislike for the man barely concealed under his mask.

"How long will it take to get to Neverland?"

"A couple days, if we don't get stopped by that wretched whale," Hook said, scowling.

"Whale?" Riku repeated, obviously confused. Hook waved his hand at him dismissively.

"Don't you worry about it."

"Is there a place we can sleep?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, there's a few empty cabins ye can sleep in, just don't bother me while I'm sleepin'! Now, ye know all ye need to know, so get out of me hair!" the captain brandished his hook at us, and Riku and I backed away, retreating down the stairs to the lower part of the deck.

Smee stumbled out of the cabin doors as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "Oh! Miss! Y-your tub is ready! I hope the water is hot enough for you!" he panted. I smiled at him, making him blush.

"Thanks so much." I turned to Riku and tugged on my shirt, which I now realized was a muddy brown color instead of black, probably from all the sand and sweat from the desert. "I'm going to get cleaned up. Wanna explore this ship when I'm done?"

Riku shrugged. "Getting cleaned up sounds like a good idea. Where do I go to do that?"

"Oh, I can prepare a tub for you, sir!" Smee piped up, clutching his hat tightly in his hands. "If you will please follow me, I can show you where it is!"

I nodded, and Smee led the way into the ship through the shiny red door. Beyond was a large cabin, obviously the captain's quarters. A small bed was pushed up against the wall, under a window, and a large, ornate table took up much of the space. The room also held a desk with a rather fancy chair behind it. The desk was covered in maps and shiny instruments, but I couldn't identify them. Hanging above the desk was an empty glass lantern.

Smee caught my attention and gestured to a door set in the floor with the top of a wooden ladder sticking out of it. He descended quickly, and since Riku reached the door before I did, I was the last to reach the bottom. The inside of the ship was roomier than I expected, and made out of a pretty light wood that creaked occasionally as the ship rocked. Smee led us to a door near the center of the ship, in front of which he stopped and turned to me.

"H-here you go, miss! I-I-I even set up a tub t-to wash your clothes!" he stuttered, looking at the ground.

"Thanks a bunch, Smee. I'll see you in a bit, Riku," I said as I opened the door. Steam poured out of the room, buffeting me with warmth.

"Later," Riku said dryly as I shut the door behind me.

The room was rather small, and a large wooden tub sat in the middle, full of steaming hot water. A smaller tub, made of the same wood, sat not too far from it, with a strange metal board sitting in it. I assumed that the smaller tub was for washing my clothes, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the metal board was actually a washing board, and I noticed a bar of soap sitting on the floor close by. I decided I would wash my clothes after I had cleaned myself, since I didn't want my water to get cold. I untied my jacket from my waist and groaned at how bad the sleeves looked. Next was my shirt, which I practically had to peel from my skin. Under my shirt, dust and sand had settled in thick smears on my skin. The pants were even harder to get off, since they were tight to begin with, and now they had practically fused with my legs from all the sweat. I stripped down the rest of the way, sighing with contentment as I freed myself from the dirty cloth. I picked the bar of soap off the floor and stepped into the hot bath, nearly burning myself. I slid in slowly enough to let my skin get used to the heat, and then grabbed the scratchy cloth from the side of the tub that I hadn't noticed before and began to scrub, washing away the dirt and sweat from the day.

My skin felt raw by the time I had finished, but I felt much better. I rinsed my hair in the water, but didn't want to submerge it due to all the dirt I had just washed off. I stepped out of the tub carefully, suddenly chilly in the steamy room. My clothes were piled in a gross heap on the floor next to the smaller tub, and I began washing them, using a mixture of vigorous scrubbing with the bar of soap and the washboard, until they seemed clean enough to wear. My poor tank top still looked faded, but it looked more black than brown now, so I decided I would have to deal with it. I looked around the room for something to dry my clothes with, but found nothing. I sat for a moment, contemplating if I should put on the wet clothes or not, when a knock sounded on the door.

"M-miss? It's me, Smee! I f-forgot to give you these clothes t-t-to wear until yours dried, so I'll leave them out here for you! I'm very s-sorry!" I heard him retreat quickly, his steps making the wood in the hallway creak. Once again grateful, I approached the door and slowly opened it, barely peeking my head out to look around. A bundle of clothes sat on the floor just within my reach, but as I reached for them, I heard footsteps again. I looked up, startled, to see Riku turning the corner, his hair still wet from his bath, wearing a simple white shirt and black pants that reminded me of a pirate.

"Riku!" I yelped, shutting the door as much as I could, my arm still hanging out as I tried to reach the clothes Smee had left me.

"Oh! Sorry, Iva! I didn't know!" he said, sounding flustered. He glanced down at my face, as I had knelt down to reach the clothes and was much closer to the floor than he was. "D-do you need help?" He stepped closer, making sure to keep his eyes away from the door I was hiding behind. He picked up the clothes and passed them to me, and our hands touched as I took them. He looked up momentarily, and we locked eyes, and suddenly I couldn't move. I noticed his cheeks were a bit pink, and I sat totally still for a moment, my breath caught in my throat. When he blinked and our contact was broken, I came back to myself, and I yanked the clothes behind the door and slammed it shut, blushing furiously.

"T-thank you," I said through the door, mentally slapping myself for my lapse in concentration.

"You're welcome," he said back, his voice muffled a bit.

I stood shakily and began to put on the clothes, which consisted of a very small pair of white shorts that reminded me of bloomers - were they bloomers? - and a white shirt similar to Riku's. Instead of pants, however, I received a long red skirt. I grumbled and put the clothes on, tying the skirt over my shirt around my waist, essentially cinching the shirt tight. I rolled the sleeves up and put my sneakers on without socks, gathered up my wet clothes, and stepped out into the hallway.

Riku was still there, leaning against the wall, obviously waiting for me. He did a bit of a double take when he saw me, clearly not expecting a skirt.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I hope my clothes dry soon," I said dryly. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"What, you don't like skirts?"

"Nope. Never have, probably never will."

Stumbling footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Smee turned the corner. "O-oh, good! You're done! H-here, I'll take your clothes for you, they'll be r-right in that room!" He pointed to the door at the end of the hall. "They sh-should be dry by t-t-tomorrow!"

I handed him the pile and smiled. "Thanks, Smee. I appreciate it." He blushed and stuttered and took the clothes from me, tottering off down the hall. Riku watched him go, his face blank.

"I think he likes you," he said.

I smiled and poked his arm. "What, are you jealous?"

"No way!"

I laughed, which made him glare at me. "Well, come on. We have a ship to explore, don't we?"

Riku nodded, seemingly glad to be off the topic, and started down the hallway. I followed closely, but couldn't quite get rid of the thought that his reply was a little too quick and defensive, and that maybe he was jealous after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

After a bit of exploring, we found that the ship was really nothing special. Most of the rooms were empty, with a few hammocks strung up in the corners for sleeping. One room even had a few blankets on the floor. There was a small room at the very bottom of the ship that was locked, but it looked empty.

I had no issues walking around the ship once I got used to walking in the skirt, but we did encounter problems when we reached the first ladder. Riku climbed up it easily, and looked over the edge at me with a curious expression. When I tried to follow him, I stepped on the skirt while trying to climb and promptly fell back down on my butt. Riku's laugh echoed down to me, and I scowled up at him.

"Hey, I can't help it! This skirt just gets in the way!"

"Nice excuse!" He called down, his tone arrogant. I huffed and concentrated, willing myself to float upward and onto the ledge. Riku's smug little grin vanished when I touched the floor again.

"Bet you can't do that," I challenged. Riku stuck his tongue out at me, then turned and led the way around the ship again.

We got bored after a while. We made our way back up to the main deck, and I leaned against the ship's railing as I stared out into space. I still couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that we were actually in _space_ \- I had never even dreamed it was possible.

"Hey, Riku," I said after a while, "how are we breathing? Isn't there no air in space?"

Riku shrugged. "I guess this ship has some magic to help us breathe. You'd have to ask Hook."

I grimaced and looked back out. "I think I'll pass on that one."

We stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the distant stars. I glanced over at Riku, whose good mood seemed to have dissipated. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, he spoke.

"I have to find her, Iva," he said quietly, not looking at me. His tone was dark. "I can't let her be hurt. I have to find Kairi."

"I know," I assured him, putting my hand on his arm. He didn't respond to my touch, which for some reason bothered me. "I'm going to help you as much as I can. We just have to be patient until we get to her."

Riku nodded tensely, but said nothing. I withdrew my hand, sensing that he didn't really want to interact. A sudden feeling on my leg distracted me, and I looked down to see the small black form of Chester rubbing against my calf. I smiled and picked him up carefully, trying not to drop him as he wriggled.

"Hey, Riku, look who decided to follow us," I said, holding Chester up. Riku looked over and smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. In an attempt to make him feel better, I adjusted my hold on Chester so that I could move his arms. "'Hoi, Riku! It's so noice to see you again!'" I said in a funny voice, bouncing Chester like a puppet. Riku laughed quietly and patted him on the head.

"Nice to see you, too, Chester." He looked at me when he withdrew his hand, his eyes still dark. "I'm kinda tired, so I'm going to find a hammock to sleep in. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" And without giving me a chance to reply, he strode off and entered the ship's cabins without another word. I sighed and clutched Chester to my chest, my good mood gone.

"Something's not right with him, Chester," I said, worry gnawing at my thoughts. "He just feels... different. I don't know..."

Chester wiggled and nuzzled his face against my collarbone. I smiled softly. "At least you haven't changed, buddy."

I stayed on the deck long after Hook and Smee had gone to bed. Everything was quiet, and we were drifting slowly through the purple haze of space. It was a calming sight, but I still couldn't help but feel anxious for some reason. I glanced down at Chester, who had since climbed down from my arms, but saw that he had gone. I looked around my feet curiously, and when I turned completely around, I realized I wasn't alone on the deck anymore.

Someone in a long, hooded brown robe was standing only a few feet away from me. I pinpointed my anxious feeling as stemming from the person, as they gave off an extremely eerie air. My arms were covered in goosebumps, and I felt the strange urge to flee. In the back of my mind, I remembered I had felt this way when I first met Ursula, and recently, whenever Maleficent was around.

I pushed those thoughts aside, however, to focus on the person in front of me. They stood in silence, as if waiting for me to speak.

"Who are you?" I called to them, trying not to let my voice waver.

"I am the one who will open the door," they replied. The voice was so deep, I assumed it belonged to a man. He took a step forward, giving me chills.

"T-that doesn't answer my question."

"There is no need to be afraid," he said calmly, taking another step. "The darkness can only help you."

"The darkness?" My stomach flipped. "No way! The darkness destroyed my home!"

"Once I have opened the door, I can bring it back," he replied. My heart stopped as he halted, now only a foot away from me. "If you help me open the door, not only will you have your home back... you will be more powerful than you could ever imagine."

"You're lying," I tried to say, but my voice broke. I realized I was shaking, probably out of fear. My legs felt frozen in place.

"Allow the darkness in, Iva. It can only make you stronger."

"How do you know my name?" My voice cracked.

"It matters not." I felt something tight around my legs, and I suddenly understood why I felt like I couldn't move. Something akin to vines had wrapped around my legs under my skirt and were holding me in place, but they felt like ice. The feeling reminded me of Chester, and I was filled with dread as I realized that tendrils of darkness were holding me still. They reached up and wrapped around my torso, even going so far as to cover my arms so that I could no longer move. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, and I was frantically trying to think of a way out.

"If you accept this, it will hurt much less," the man said menacingly as the vines tightened around me. It became harder to breathe as my chest was constricted, and I found that I couldn't muster up the energy to call for help. My voice died in my throat, which was soon covered in darkness as well. My air supply was getting thin as the vines pulled tighter, and feelings of panic finally began to hit.

"Stop fighting," he said quietly, stepping forward until he was only inches from me. I could only stare in fear and gasp for air as he loomed over me. "It will be worth it in the end."

 _'Please, no'_ I thought. _'Please don't let this be the end.'_

My vision began to grow dark. The loss of air was starting to get to me, but a sharp pain in my chest brought me back to my senses. I felt the icy darkness stab through my chest, inching towards my heart.

 _'Please let someone stop this, I don't want this, I don't want the darkness!'_

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. The vines' progress stopped, but they didn't loosen. My ears were ringing, making it hard to hear what was going on.

"You let her go... I... help you!" The person yelled. The vines around my neck loosened, and I gasped for air.

"You would give it up, just for her?" The man asked, a touch of annoyance in his voice. The other voice didn't respond.

The vines suddenly disappeared, and I crumpled to the deck, shivering. Footsteps approached me quickly, and a warm hand settled on my shoulder. "Iva, are you okay?" the voice asked.

I glanced up to see Riku, and wondered why I couldn't pinpoint his voice immediately. "I-I think so," I stuttered, my teeth chattering. My whole body was shaking, and as I looked around, I saw the man in the robe was gone. "Riku, what-"

"Let's just get you inside, Iva." He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled mine over his shoulders, and then lifted me gently to my feet. He seemed to realize that I couldn't quite walk, as he practically carried me into the ship's cabins. He helped me into a hammock, and stayed to make sure I wouldn't fall out of it.

"Riku, do you know who that was?" I asked after I was situated. He didn't answer, and instead picked up a blanket off the floor, which he then tossed around my shoulders. While I welcomed the warmth, I refused to give up. "Riku, talk to me."

He turned to walk out, but I grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stay still. "You know something, don't you?" He stayed silent, his face turned away from me. "Tell me!"

"It's none of your business, Iva," he said coldly. The words stung, but I didn't let go.

"That man _made_ it my business!"

"And I wish he hadn't!" he retorted. I noticed he was shaking.

"Whoever he is, he's bad news," I said quietly. "But you obviously know him. Please, Riku, just talk to me. What's going on?"

Riku was silent. I opened my mouth to say something else, but then he spoke. "I didn't want you involved with him, Iva." He sounded sad. "I'm sorry he approached you. It won't happen again."

"But just who is he?"

Riku sighed, still not looking at me. "His name is Ansem. He's helping me find Kairi. He's making me stronger so that I can help her."

A worrying thought came up in my mind. "Riku, he's not... he's not telling you to use the darkness, is he?"

"If it helps me help Kairi, I don't care." His voice was flat, monotone. My hand tightened around his wrist.

"Riku, please don't do this. It'll only hurt you!"

"What do you know?" he demanded, wrenching free of my grip. He stood in silence for a moment, as if he was trying to gather his thoughts. "... Get some sleep. I'm sure Hook will put us to work tomorrow." He strode out of the room without another word.

If I had been able to form a sentence, I would have called out to him. I wanted him to understand that what he was doing was wrong - but I couldn't put the words together. My mind was buzzing, thoughts spinning around too quickly for me to address individually. Why was Riku using the darkness? Why was he changing so much? Did the darkness already have a hold on his heart? What about Ansem? What was this 'door' he kept referring to? Why did he approach me?

Questions kept popping up and disappearing, replaced by a new one. I didn't have any answers. I laid down carefully in the hammock and shut my eyes, attempting to gather my thoughts.

I awoke much later in the night with a jolt, making me nearly fall out of my hammock. Chester dug his claws into my leg to keep his position on my lap, and once I steadied myself, he curled back up into a ball. I wondered what caused me to wake up, and after a few minutes of puzzling, I figured I wouldn't find an answer. I shut my eyes and tried to relax in an attempt to fall asleep again, but it was a while before I felt calm enough to feel sleepy.

A loud knock roused me from sleep in the morning. "Iva," Riku called through the door, "it's time to get up. Hook wants us to do some work on the ship." His footsteps retreated, and I knew that he wasn't coming back to check on me. I groaned and stretched, trying not to fall out of the hammock in the process. Chester jumped down and shook his whole body like a dog, which made me smile. I got up carefully, pulling at the skirt that had tangled around my legs. I hoped that our clothes were dry by now, and made a note to find a spell to dry them if they weren't.

I made my way to the deck, where Riku and Hook were waiting for me. Hook looked especially gleeful, whereas Riku avoided eye contact.

"If I'm going to be lugging you brats along, I might as well make ye useful!" Hook said cheerfully. He pointed to a couple buckets full of water next to some scrub brushes. "You two will be cleaning me deck today! Smee never gets it clean enough, so ye better get to work!" He walked away, laughing to himself. I turned to Riku, but he had already grabbed a bucket and brush and was beginning to walk towards the front of the ship, away from Hook. I sighed and took the other bucket, following Hook to the back of the ship.

With both of us working, it didn't take long to scrub the deck until it sparkled. Hook inspected it, and after three times of telling us "do it again, ye lazy brats!", he approved of our work and told us we were free to wander the ship, so long as we didn't dirty anything in the process. Riku vanished at that point, and I was left to while away the day on my own. I ate lunch and dinner with only Chester as company, which Smee brought to me from the captain's cabin. When Smee brought my dinner, I asked if my clothes had dried yet.

"U-uh, n-no they haven't, I-I'm sorry," he stuttered.

"That's alright. Can you bring them anyway? Maybe they'll be dry by tomorrow."

"O-of course, Miss Iva!" He toddled off, and soon returned with my clothes, which were indeed still damp. I thanked him and bade him goodnight, and shut the door behind him as he left. I set the clothes flat on the floor and grabbed my spellbook from my bag, flipping through the pages until I found a section that mentioned heating or cooling the air around someone or something. I read until I understood how to do it, and then focused on heating the air around my clothes to promote drying them. I watched as steam billowed off of them, and when I could no longer see it, I released the spell.

The clothes were bone dry to the touch. Elated that I could finally wear my own clothes again, I wasted no time in changing back into them. I finally felt like me again - even Chester seemed to approve.

I went to bed that night feeling a little better than the night before, but I still worried over Riku.

I was roused rather unceremoniously the next morning by Riku, who had changed backed into his normal clothes. "Iva, we're in Neverland now! Come on, get up, we have to go find Kairi!" He was shaking me roughly, making me nearly fall out of the hammock.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake!" Riku released me, and I sat up carefully. Chester, who had fallen to the floor, looked up at Riku with exasperation. I thought about expressing my agreement, but held my tongue. I yawned and stretched while Riku tapped his foot impatiently.

"Come on, Iva, we have to go!"

"Alright, just let me grab my bag," I said tiredly. I got out of the hammock carefully, and then picked my bag off the floor and strapped it to my leg. When I looked up, Riku was already at the door. Chester pawed at my leg when I made a step to leave. "No, Chester, stay here. I don't know what this place will be like. Okay? Stay right here." Chester sat down sadly, but didn't move to follow me out of the room.

Riku led the way to the main deck of the ship, nearly sprinting down the hallways and climbing ladders much faster than I could follow. He waited for me at the exit, which I reached in my own time.

The landscape outside was definitely not what I had expected. Just yesterday, we were suspended in space, surrounded by stardust - now, however, we were floating on water, not too far from a very green island. Smee stood not too far from us, next to the railing of the deck. "Come on! I've got a boat ready!" he called, beckoning us over. Riku and I arrived there quickly, and I saw a rope ladder had been tied to the railing, dropping down the side of the ship to a small rowboat on the water. Captain Hook was already there, scowling up at us.

Riku hopped onto the ladder before Smee could say anything and swiftly descended. I took my time getting down, as Smee wasn't there to hold the ladder still for me. I landed roughly in the rowboat, but I managed to avoid falling into the water. Smee joined us quickly, and soon we were headed straight to the island.

Riku's leg bounced impatiently the whole way, and he nearly leapt out of the boat as soon as we reached the shore. He helped me out of the boat, and then stood by stiffly while Hook disembarked and Smee tied the boat to a nearby tree. Hook strutted towards us, the huge feather in his cap waving in the sea breeze.

"Now, listen here ye brats, we're not just here for your little friend. There's a girl, Wendy, who might be a Princess of Heart. Maleficent will reward me greatly if I bring in one of them! So you two are gonna help me get her. Bring her back in one piece, and then I don't care what ye do," he growled.

"Fine," Riku said, turning away. "Come on, Iva. Let's find them." He strode off into the forest that lined the beach, leaving me scrambling to keep up.

The forest was much darker and quieter than I expected. The sound of the ocean almost completely disappeared once we were a few feet into the trees. I had trouble keeping up with Riku, as ferns kept getting tangled around my ankles. Riku seemed to be used to this kind of thing, but he paused occasionally to make sure I hadn't gotten lost. We walked silently for a while before coming to a clearing. A large, lone tree stood in the center, its branches bare. Riku approached it slowly, staring at it with curiosity. I noticed a door set into the base of the trunk, and as I looked closer, I spotted various windows in the larger branches. Confused, I walked closer to the tree, and nearly screamed when a raccoon's head popped out from a hollow in the roots. I stepped back in a hurry, looking up to reassure Riku that I was okay, but he was looking at the raccoon. Upon a second glance, I realized that it wasn't a raccoon, but a young boy dressed up as one. He stood in front of me, his chubby stomach sticking out slightly.

"Who are you, lady?" the boy asked roughly. "Girls aren't allowed here! Well, except for that one girl, but she's an exception because Peter wants her here. Come on, who are you? What are you doing here?"

I was taken aback by his abrupt manner. He sounded like he had never even heard the word 'discipline.' I looked to Riku for guidance, who looked just as baffled as I was.

"We're looking for someone," Riku spoke up, stepping into the boy's field of vision. He turned around abruptly to face Riku. "Have you seen a girl named Kairi around here?"

"Kairi? Nah, but we do have a Wendy here. Do you know Wendy?"

Riku's eyes flashed at the name. Before he could speak, however, another boy flew into view - literally. He hovered a few inches off the ground and stared at us with wonder.

"Well, howdy! I've never seen you two around here before. My name's Peter Pan! Who are you guys?"

The raccoon boy looked a little disgruntled at the new arrival.

"I'm Iva," I said, "and this is Riku. We're looking for a girl named Kairi, have you seen her?"

Peter crossed his arms and gave a puzzled expression. "No, I don't know anyone by that name. Maybe Wendy will know! Come on in, you guys, she's inside!" Peter waved his hand towards the door in the tree trunk, behind which he disappeared. The raccoon boy glared at us before following him inside. Riku walked to it quickly, a determined expression on his face, and I followed as I worried.

When we entered the tree, we were not only greeted with the sight of blankets and hammocks everywhere, but also another boy dressed as a raccoon. The first raccoon boy ran to him, and I realized that they looked almost identical. Peter rushed to introduce us to everyone - a boy dressed as a skunk, another dressed as a bear. I didn't quite catch their names, and they were gone almost as soon as they came by.

The only girl in the tree came up to us, her long blond hair forming pretty curls on her shoulders. She wore a modest blue dress, and looked young. Her innocent eyes reminded me of Kara, and a stab of pain went through my chest at the thought.

"Hiya, Wendy!" Peter said cheerfully, floating beside her. "These guys say they're looking for someone, think you can help?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," the girl replied. She had a strange accent. "But I'd be happy to help! Did you lose your friend in the forest, by chance?"

"We don't know where she is," Riku piped up, "but we were hoping you could help us look. Do you think we could split up? Iva and I know what she looks like, so how about I go with Wendy to look, and she can go with you, Peter?" Riku delivered the lie smoothly, and I tried to keep my face neutral. I couldn't figure out why he would want to lie about me knowing what Kairi looked like.

Peter seemed to think it over. "Hmm... What do you think, Wendy?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know. If it will help you find your friend, though, I'm happy to help however I can!"

"Great!" Peter said. He hovered closer to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me back out into the clearing. "Come on, let's get started!" He dragged me into the forest, at which point he let go and began floating a few feet in front of me. I glanced back at the tree, which I could barely see through the ferns, and saw Riku and Wendy walk the opposite way.

"So, where do you think your friend might be?"

"I'm not sure, honestly." I stepped carefully over a tree root. "We actually don't know where she is. I just hope she's okay." I angled our direction slightly to try and bring us back to where I thought the rowboat was. I silently thanked my track teacher for making sure we knew how to read maps and orient ourselves.

Peter asked questions occasionally, and I tried my best to keep the answers vague. Somehow we ended up on the beach, and I managed to convince him that searching the beach would be easier than trekking through the forest. After what felt like hours, I spotted a rowboat in the distance. Riku's silver hair shone in the setting sunlight.

"Oh, there's Riku! Maybe he found her!"

"Hm. Maybe."

Peter rushed ahead, and I set myself to a comfortable jog to keep up with him.

Wendy was sitting in the rowboat already, looking scared. Riku looked up as we approached, his face blank.

"Oh, good, you're here. Let's go. Kairi isn't here."

"Wendy? What's going on, are you okay?" Peter said, hovering close to her. Before she could reply, a voice called out behind us, the accent thick.

"Ye had better leave now, Peter Pan!" The boy whirled around to face Captain Hook, who was brandishing his hook menacingly.

"Hook! You better leave Wendy alone!"

Riku stepped forward to put himself between Peter and Wendy. He turned his head to look at me over his shoulder. "Iva. Make sure Wendy is secure in the ship." Smee skittered by me, stepping carefully into the boat. Wendy leaned away from him. Reluctantly, I got onto the boat and sat between her and Smee.

"Riku? Are you coming?"

"You're not leaving with Wendy!" Peter yelled, trying to get past Riku. Riku grabbed him and almost effortlessly held him in place.

"Smee! Get that wench on the ship!" Hook called out. "Make sure she can't get away!"

Smee dutifully pushed us off the shore and began rowing towards the ship. Wendy, suddenly aware of what was going on, stood up quickly. "No, please! Peter, help!" She tried to step forward and tripped over a rope. I jumped up and caught her before she fell, but she was so light I overcompensated and we both fell to the floor. She struggled to get up, but I held her in a tight hug.

"Wendy! Wendy, please listen to me, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Let go of me!" Her small fists pounded at my sides, but I barely felt them.

"Wendy, please just stop! I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise, okay?"

"I don't want to go with Hook! Leave me alone!" She struggled against my arms. I held her tighter, mostly to stop her from hurting herself.

"Wendy, just listen to me. I promise I won't let Hook hurt you. Okay? I will protect you. But you have to cooperate with me! You have to stop fighting, and come quietly. I promise he won't hurt you. I won't let him, okay?" She was quieting down, her body shaking with sobs. I loosened my hold on her slightly. "It'll be okay, don't worry. We just need you to come with us, and afterwards, we'll bring you right back. Okay? I promise, I'll bring you back here." I wasn't actually sure what would happen to her if she was found to be a Princess of Heart. I hadn't seen Jasmine since we brought her back from Agrabah. I only hoped I could convince Hook to let her go if she wasn't a Princess.

Wendy sniffed. I could feel her tears had soaked through my tank top. She shifted her weight, and I helped her sit up on a bench in the boat. Smee cleared his throat behind us - during our struggle, he had gotten us all the way to Hook's ship. He held the rope ladder in his hands with a distressed look on his face. _Maybe he dislikes this as much as I do,_ I thought. I turned back to Wendy.

"Wendy, I need you to go up to the ship now. Can you do that? I'll be right behind you, so you won't fall."

She sniffed again, then hiccupped. "I don't w-want to go."

"I know you don't, but you have to. Please, just go up there. There's nothing there to hurt you."

She sat in silence for a moment, then stood up slowly. I held my hand out to steady her, but she ignored it. She gingerly stepped onto the ladder and began pulling herself up, her dress fluttering in the breeze. I felt bad for her - I now knew how hard it was to climb ladders in a dress.

I waited until she was about halfway up, and then I followed her up. Smee held the ladder steady for us, and I turned back to help him up once I made it to the deck. He waved me away.

"I have to go get the Captain!" he called, grabbing the oar. I simply nodded and turned to Wendy, who had her arms wrapped tightly around her chest. I stepped closer to her, but she shrank away from me.

"Whoa, hey, I said I wouldn't hurt you. Come on, let's find you a room to stay in. I'll even make sure that you have a real bed, and not a hammock. Does that sound okay?"

She didn't answer, but moved to follow me as I led her to the inside of the ship. We wandered the halls for a few minutes until I found a room that had two beds nailed to the walls. I tested the bed to see how soft it was, and noticed that the sheets were fairly clean. "Here, Wendy. This should be fine." She sat sullenly on a bed, still hugging herself. I sat next to her, trying to ignore her moving away. "Look, I'm really sorry. But I promise I won't hurt you. Just... stay here, okay? I don't know what Hook will do if you try to get out." She nodded and sniffed again. I stood up and left the room, closing the door gently behind me. I pulled my spellbook out of my bag and searched for a spell to lock the door - instead I found a spell to make some sort of ward that would not allow anything past either way.

I focused hard on keeping the door safe, and was rewarded with a gleam of magic that spanned just the doorway. The book described the ward as being as big as the caster can make it. I figured that it was simply too complicated to cover the whole room, and decided that covering the door was enough. I resolved to practice that spell more - it seemed useful.

By the time I returned to the main deck, Hook and Riku had made it back. Riku was holding Peter Pan by his wrists with a blank expression. He didn't even seem to notice me, even when he walked right past me into the ship. Peter, however, looked at me as if he felt betrayed.

"Where is the girl?" Hook demanded, sauntering up to me. I glared at him, but didn't say what I was thinking.

"I put her in a cabin," I said coolly. He grimaced.

"No matter. She cannot escape?"

"No."

"Good! Ye will be rewarded, I'll make sure o' that. Smee! Let's leave this wretched place!"

"Y-yes, Cap'n!" He scurried off to the wheel of the ship. Hook stalked away towards his cabin.

"Don't ye be bothering me, now! I need to tell Maleficent that I found the girl." The heavy door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone on the main deck.

The boat jerked as Smee sent it forward. I still wasn't entirely sure how the boat moved with only one crew man, but I put the thought aside. I grabbed onto the rail as the boat began to move faster, cutting through the water and leaving long wakes. We were soon hovering over the water, and then moving upwards into space. The changing sky took my breath away, and I forgot about everything that had happened for a moment as I admired the space around the ship. One spot of white was getting larger as we neared it - then I saw that it was really white with purple on one side and red on the other. Pale tendrils extended from the purple, almost making it look like...

"Smee!" I called, running towards the wheel. "Stop the ship, I think that's a person!"

He fumbled with the wheel and we began to slow, and as we neared I realized I was right. Floating just on the edge of the world was a girl with red hair and a purple skirt. I grabbed a rope dangling from the mast and sprinted to the rail of the boat, launching myself over and towards her. I ignored Smee's shout and propelled myself forward with magic.

I collided with the girl a little harder than expected, and we went flying into space as far as the rope allowed it. It jerked my arm back as we stopped, hurting my shoulder and making me cry out. The girl in my arm didn't say anything - in fact, she didn't even look like she was awake. I glanced back to see Smee pulling us in by the rope. He pulled us over gently, and I knelt on the deck with the girl in my lap.

"Smee, go get Riku and Hook. They'll want to know about this." He stuttered an agreement and ran off, leaving me with the girl.

I adjusted her in my arms and looked at her face more carefully. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. Her breath came slow and deep. Her hair was a pretty auburn, cut close to her chin. I shook her lightly to try and wake her, but she didn't respond.

Footsteps announced the arrival of the others.

"Iva, what's going on? Smee said you... you found..." Riku's voice trailed off. I looked up at him and saw that his eyes were wide.

"I found her drifting," I said, sitting up a little straighter. The girl was limp in my arms. "Do you know her?"

He fell to his knees in front of me, staring at her. His hands were shaking. "That's... Kairi..."

"Wait, what?"

"Give her to me."

I held her up a little and let him pick her up. He did so gently, as if afraid he would hurt her. He stood and turned to walk back into the ship. "Wait!" I called, jumping up after him. "Where are you going to put her?"

"I don't know." He shouldered his way through a door and into the hallway.

"H-how about where Wendy is?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because she's safe. Riku, wait," I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. He didn't look at me. "I sealed Wendy's room with a spell. No one can get in or out. Don't you want her safe? Plus, Wendy will be there when she wakes up. Do you think that Hook will just let you stay with her and not do anything around the ship while we head back?" He didn't respond. "Look, just follow me, I'll let you in to Wendy's room and you can leave Kairi there. There's even two beds." I pushed past him and began walking to where I left Wendy, hoping that he was following.

When we reached her door, I dug out my spellbook and found the page that originally taught me the barrier spell. It detailed how to break it down, and I noticed a drop in my energy when I did. I resolved to use the barriers only in extreme circumstances after we got Wendy and Kairi back to Hollow Bastion - they were costly, and Maleficent had already drilled into me the importance of conserving my energy.

Wendy looked up when the door opened, and gasped when she saw Kairi. "Oh my goodness! Is that your friend?"

I took the liberty of answering while Riku laid Kairi gently down on the other bed. "It is. I found her floating out there."

"Oh, no! She must have been on a ship that got destroyed... Oh, I hope she's alright!"

Riku stood up straight and headed for the door. "She will be. She has to be." He left without another word.

I apologized to Wendy and made my way out, sealing the door behind me. This time, I actually felt tired after casting the barrier. I wouldn't be able to put up another after breaking this one down, I was sure of it. I hoped that Riku didn't expect to see Kairi more.

Riku was long gone, so I made my way back to my room. Chester greeted me happily when I opened the door, and I sat on the floor to pet him. "Did you stay put like I told you to, Chester?" He burrowed into my hands, his eyes closed happily. "I'm sure you did, you're a good boy, aren't you?" I played with him for a few more moments before standing up, taking off my jacket and tying it around my waist. I moved towards the hammock in the corner, but a knock interrupted me.

"Iva, Maleficent is here. Let's go," Riku's voice called through the door. I glanced at Chester, who looked at me with innocent eyes. Could a Heartless have innocent eyes? I pushed the thought aside and left my room to see Riku at the end of the hall, already by the ladder that lead up into Hook's cabin. He glanced back at me before making his way up the ladder.

It was much easier to climb in my pants than it was in the skirt. I scaled the ladder quickly, coming nearly face-to-face with Hook when I made it up. He scowled at me and pushed me aside with his hooked arm, scratching my shoulder in the process. He descended the ladder before I could complain.

Maleficent stood in the center of the cabin, looking imposing. She smiled at me, but it was less than warm.

"Hello, child. It is good to see you. I do apologize for the good Captain's behavior - he seems rather irate that his little girl is not as pure as he had hoped."

"Who, Wendy? She's not a Princess of Heart?" Guilt flooded through me. We kidnapped her for nothing.

Maleficent shook her head. "Sadly, no. But no matter. Riku tells me that you found his dear Kairi."

The way she spoke sent a strange feeling through me. "Yeah. She was sorta just... floating in space."

"The space in between worlds... How strange..."

"She won't wake up," Riku interjected. "Will she be okay?"

"I do not know. However, I find it strange that I did not sense her when I came on board. The other girl, yes - but not Kairi."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, it seems she has lost her heart." Riku's face darkened, but he said nothing. "Let me elaborate, dears. I can sense all of you - your hearts are like candles in darkness. But I only sense six hearts on board - Kairi would be the seventh."

"Wait, seventh?" I was thoroughly confused. "Who else is here?" I mentally ticked off the people on the ship. Hook, Smee, Riku, Wendy, myself... who was the other if not Kairi?

"Peter Pan," Riku said. He did not explain further.

"Precisely. It would seem that your friend has lost her heart somewhere along her travels through the in-between. However..."

Riku leaned forward slightly. "If she lost her heart, how hasn't she become a Heartless?"

"I do not know, child. But I know of something that may help you." She turned around to pace the cabin, her cloak billowing behind her dramatically. "I hear of a puppet who has a heart. He is made entirely of wood, but can walk and talk on his own. How might something like this come by a heart of its own, I wonder?" She turned to Riku and held out a jeweled pendant. "Take this, child. It will bring you there and back. Perhaps you will find your answers with it."

Riku took it without question. Maleficent then turned to me, ignoring my look of shock and apprehension. "Perhaps you ought to go with him, Iva. I doubt you have much else to do around here." She held her arms up and vanished in a burst of flames. I flinched, wondering how the cabin didn't catch fire. A scorch mark was all that left evidence of her presence.

The pendant dangled in Riku's hand. He stared at me, then said curtly "Let's go."

I stepped closer, and my heart fluttered when he took my hand. The pendant glowed between us, and I felt a pull in my stomach as the cabin around us disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The first thing I noticed was the smell. The second thing I noticed was how wet it was.

I looked around us, staring curiously at the pink walls and floor. Riku let go of my hand and stepped forward, his shoes _squelch_ ing as he walked.

"Where are we?" I asked, following him. The sound my shoes made on the floor sent chills up my spine.

"I don't know. Are those... teeth?" Riku pointed to an off-white mass that was jutting from the floor. I looked towards it, then noticed another right next to it. It did look similar to a tooth - if teeth were the size of people. I looked around us and saw huge piles of wooden planks, stacked into towers, in what looked like a pond. But the teeth curved around the pond, and we were standing on a squishy pink substance, with a gaping hole behind us, and something hanging down from the top...

"Oh my - I think we're inside a mouth of something. This is... so gross." I focused my energy and levitated off the floor, thoroughly disgusted by the thought. "This is so awful. Why would anything be in here? Is this a whale?"

"Hush, I think someone's coming!" Riku said, pushing me backwards to hide behind the nearest pile of planks. He jumped onto a plank to avoid the water and pulled me beside him, pressing me into the wood. I thought water was seeping into my shirt and shivered - if we were really in a mouth, then this definitely wasn't just water. My stomach roiled, and I fought the urge to throw up.

A loud _clunk-clunk-clunk_ neared us, and a small boy in wooden shoes skipped past us and landed on the squishy pink surface. He continued on into the hole in the wall, and I thought I heard a voice yelling after him "No, don't run off!"

Riku leaned forward, staring after the boy. "Let's follow him. I think that's the puppet Maleficent was talking about." He released me and hopped onto the pink surface, then ran after the boy. I shivered and reluctantly followed him, mainly because I didn't want to be left alone.

The boy had halted near a few wooden barrels. He pulled himself on top of one and looked around, at which point he noticed us. As we got closer, I realized Riku was right - the boy wasn't a boy at all, but actually a wooden puppet. The puppet's eyes widened and his mouth fell open when he saw us.

"Whoa, did Monstro swallow you, too?" He hopped down and ran up to us.

"Monstro?" Riku questioned. The puppet nodded.

"Yeah! The giant whale!"

I fought the urge to throw up again.

"Will you play with me? It's just me and my dad here, and it's reeeeaaally boring!" The puppet hopped excitedly. Riku, strangely, smiled at him.

"Sure, kid. What's your name?"

"I'm Pinocchio!" He hopped up onto a ledge and began running through another opening in the wall. "Come on, let's explore!"

"Oh, ew, can we please not," I muttered, hovering after him. The use of magic was starting to get to me, but I refused to get whale spit all over my clothes.

"We need to figure out how he has a heart," Riku replied, stepping forward. "Maybe he can help Kairi."

Pinocchio was waiting for us in the next chamber. "I think that one over there leads to the stomach, but I don't know how to get there," he said, pointing to an opening far above us.

"Well, let's find out," Riku said. He beckoned for Pinocchio to follow him into another chamber. His footsteps echoed strangely. _Is someone else here? Or is that his dad? Wait, maker? Ugh._

Pinocchio jumped ahead, leaping over the barrels quickly. Just before I could make my way over them, a voice called out that wasn't Riku.

"What are you doing? Come on, let's go back!"

I crouched beside the barrels, careful not to touch the floor or them, and peeked over. Sora and his two companions were standing not too far from Pinocchio, who stood near the center of the chamber. I saw Riku not too far off, but he was hidden from Sora's sight.

The taller companion spoke. "You know, Gepetto's awfully worried about you."

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around," Sora called sternly, his hand on his hip. "This is no time for games!"

The puppet looked sheepish, but Riku took that moment to step out.

"But, Sora, I thought you liked games. Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

His dramatic entrance seemed to have the desired effect. Sora's eyes went wide. "Riku! Wh-what are you doing here?"

He shrugged, ignoring the glares from Sora's short duck friend. "Just playing with Pinocchio."

"You know what I mean!" Sora snapped. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?" I thought he sounded worried.

"Maybe. Catch us, and maybe I'll tell you what I know." He moved closer to Pinocchio, reaching to take the puppet by the hand.

"Come on!" Sora yelled, frustrated. Riku pulled Pinocchio after him and jumped over the barrels I was hiding behind, beckoning me to follow. I stole another glance back at Sora and followed him reluctantly. We ran through chambers, me floating along quickly, until we came to a dead end. Riku looked around and saw an opening far above us, but no way to get to it. He let go of Pinocchio, who fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"Riku, don't push him so hard," I said quietly. He didn't respond, but instead started pacing. I reached out to him, but was interrupted by Maleficent's flashy entrance. Pinocchio gasped and ran behind me, holding onto my leg tightly. Riku didn't even seem to notice she was there.

"Riku, child," she said sweetly, "why do you still care about that boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all." I bristled at her tone, but kept quiet. I rested a hand on Pinocchio's head to calm him down.

Riku stopped pacing. "I don't care about him," he said coldly. "I was just messing with him a little."

Maleficent smiled as if she found that funny. "Oh, really? Of course you were." She paused and stared at him. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it." And without another word, she left in the same manner she arrived. Riku glared into the remnants of the flames.

"Mind your own business."

"Riku, what does she mean?" I asked, moving forward. Pinocchio stumbled along with me. "Darkness in your heart?"

"Nothing," he snapped, turning away. A rumble in the whale shook some wooden debris away from the wall, revealing another opening in the wall. Pinocchio seemed to lose his nerve then, and he let go of me and sprinted towards the opening.

Sora and his friends walked in at that moment, just in time to see Pinocchio run into the other chamber. I quickly let myself down onto the floor before someone noticed me floating, and cringed when my feet met the squishy surface.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?" Again, I thought he sounded worried. Riku turned to face him, scorn blatant on his face.

"I was about to as you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do," Sora said, defensive. Before anyone else could speak, a scream sounded from the chamber next to us. Without thinking, I sprinted towards it, and I heard that Riku and the others had followed me.

I skidded to a halt at the edge of the pink surface, trying not to fall into the green liquid within. A huge purple mass sat in the middle of the room, with long blue arms tipped with spikes. Long teeth interlocked like a cage, and within sat Pinocchio, cowering near the back. The lighter purple head looked on smugly, and two pairs of bright yellow eyes stared at us.

Riku and Sora stopped on either side of me, and Sora's two friends stood behind us. Sora's Keyblade glinted in the dim light, and beside me, Riku held his sword out in front of him. I called my staff and prepped my magic, but was afraid of hurting Pinocchio.

"You up for this?" Riku said to no one in particular. I heard Sora move beside me.

"No problem. Let's do it!"

Pinocchio screamed again and clasped his hands around the teeth of the cage. "Get me out of here!"

The monster - I realized with a start that the emblem on its face marked it as a Heartless - left us no more time to talk. The long blue arms lashed out at us, and Sora and Riku jumped separate ways to avoid it. My reaction time was too slow, though, and the spiked end hit me in the stomach, sending me flying into the wall. Sora's two friends also got hit, but the taller one threw up a shield in time and deflected it. The duck held a small staff up and sent a small icicle flying towards the smaller head, hitting it dead in the face.

I saw Riku attacking the Heartless from the back, trying to distract it. The arms flailed around the back, trying to hit him, but he parried and jumped out of their range.

Sora was taking a more direct route, jumping up to attack the teeth in an attempt to break Pinocchio free. I focused my magic and sent a bolt of lightning towards the smaller head - at the same time, the duck sent a fireball at it. The head snapped back from the impact, and the arms slumped beside it as it stood there, dazed. Riku and Sora took that chance to attack what they deemed as weak spots; the taller of Sora's friends charged forward, spinning his shield around him. When he hit the teeth of the Heartless, it shuddered, then jumped back to life. It reached its arms up and grabbed the ceiling, swinging slightly.

It stayed attached to the ceiling for a moment. Another rumble sounded through the whale, and the floor in the center of the chamber opened up, draining all the green fluid. The Heartless opened its mouth and spit out Pinocchio, sending him tumbling down the hole. Riku jumped in after him, and I followed, more worried about the puppet than Sora.

The hole led back to what seemed to be the mouth of the whale. Pinocchio had landed on top of a pile of planks. I fell over when I landed beside him, then picked myself up and tried to pick the splinters out of my hands. I made a mental note to find a pair of gloves to wear out. My staff vanished in a flash of light on the planks in front of me.

Riku held Pinocchio under his arm, and we watched as Sora and his friends landed on the deck of a mostly whole ship nearby. An old man met them and pointed up at us, staring at Riku.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" He called, his voice raw with emotion. "Please! Give me back my son!"

 _Oh, his son. Oh no._

"Sorry, old man," Riku called back, "I have some unfinished business with this puppet." I reached out to him to try to get him to stop talking, but he ignored me.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!"

Guilt flooded me as Riku continued talking. "He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." He turned away and began walking towards the back of the whale. I bit my lip and looked back at Sora.

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?"

"What do you care about her?"

He ran off, forcing me to either stay behind or follow him. I chose to follow, though it sent more guilt through me. We passed into a chamber that I assumed was the throat, and some sticky liquid dripped from the ceiling onto my shoulder. I suppressed a squeak and pressed forward to get away from it.

Riku halted when we entered what I assumed was the stomach. A hole in the ceiling was the only other entrance I could see, and there was no debris along the walls. Pools of green liquid - probably stomach acid - dotted the room. He carefully set Pinocchio down against the wall, away from any acid. I stared at him and wondered why he hadn't said anything.

"I think that Heartless stole his heart," Riku said quietly, not looking at me. My stomach dropped. I was spared saying anything by the sound of Sora and his friends approaching from behind.

"Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku," he called, his voice serious. Riku turned around slowly, not really seeing anything.

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless... Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi. How about it, Sora?" He stepped forward, his eyes bright. "Let's join forces to save her. We can do it, together." His voice sounded strange to me - almost as if two people were speaking at once, both with his voice. He stepped closer to Sora, who called his Keyblade in response.

Riku halted. "What? You'd rather right me? Over a puppet that has no heart?" His voice was flat.

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience!" Sora's friends took up their arms, too.

"Conscience?" Riku scoffed. I noticed movement on Sora's shoulder. A small green object hopped down - a cricket! It ran past us and stood by Pinocchio's foot, nudging him with a tiny umbrella.

"You might not hear it," Sora continued, "but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

 _It's telling me that, too. Oh, what do I do?_

"Then you leave me no choice," Riku said, shifting his weight forward in preparation for a fight. I focused my magic, prepared to throw up a barrier between the two people who used to be friends. The cricket kept calling Pinocchio's name, sounding sad.

Then the puppet spoke up. "Jiminy... I'm not gonna make it," he said weakly. Then he paused, and in a much brighter voice, said "Oh! I guess I'm okay!" I turned to glance at him and noticed that his nose seemed longer. The cricket looked happy to see him, jumping up and down in his joy.

The whale rumbled again, and the same Heartless from before fell down suddenly from the ceiling, catching everyone's attention. Sora and his friends immediately went on the defensive. When I moved forward to help, Riku grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Let's go," he said quietly, holding the pendant up to where I could see. It glowed dully, and the light expanded until it swallowed us. The sounds of fighting got quieter until they were gone completely, and we were surrounded by darkness.

Riku let go of me before my eyes could adjust to the dimness of the room. The pendant had brought us into the hold of the ship - piles of boxes surrounded us, pressing in. Riku started towards the nearest ladder, apparently anxious to get away.

"Riku, wait!" I called, following him. He ignored me and grabbed a rung on the ladder. I caught up to him and took his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "You quit running away from me!"

"Running away?" he snapped, letting go of the ladder to face me. He yanked his arm free. "What makes you think I'm running away?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about every time I try to talk to you, you leave?" For some reason, I was boiling with anger. "I mean, just listen to yourself for a minute! Don't you think something is wrong here?"

"Nothing is wrong!"

"Something is definitely wrong! I mean, you helped kidnap a KID, and then a harmless puppet! What did these people ever do to you?" I stepped forward, pointing my finger at him in emphasis. "And what about that weirdo that attacked me a few days ago? You still haven't completely told me what's going on, and I'm worried! Something is up, Riku, and you better tell me what!"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" he retorted. "The only thing that matters right now is Kairi! I don't care what I have to do to help her!"

His words cut through me like ice. I stepped back, at a loss for words.

"And what makes you think you deserve to know every little thing I do and why I do it? He only went after you because he thought he could use you, but he can't, because you're not strong enough for it!" He jumped onto the ladder and scaled it quickly, leaving me behind. "Don't ask me about it again, Iva. I don't need you anymore," he said in closing, slamming the trapdoor shut behind him.

I stood still for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts. For some reason, one sentence kept repeating in my head, blocking out everything else.

 _"The only thing that matters is Kairi!"_

I felt tears come unbidden to my eyes. Why did those words hurt me so much? I should have known that Kairi was his driving force.

Maybe it hurt so much because I had nothing else. I leaned heavily on a stack of boxes, tears falling freely down my face. Should I have been sobbing? The tears were silent, if constant. Why was I crying, anyway? Did I really think that I was important to Riku? He had friends. He knew they were okay. Why would he have needed me?

I cursed myself for letting myself become dependent on him. My mind went to Dylan, and I stood up straighter and wiped my tears away. He wouldn't want me crying over something I couldn't change. I took a few minutes to collect myself, and then made my way up the ladder. As I neared the trap door, I could hear voices.

 _'Am I below the captain's cabin?'_

Riku's voice met my ears. "So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" he asked. I forced my breath quieter so I could hear.

"Precisely," Maleficent's voice cooed. There was a pause, and then Riku spoke again.

"And her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

There was a rustle. "Tell me!" Riku said, desperation in his voice. "What can I do?"

Maleficent's heels clicked over the trap door, making me flinch. "There are seven maidens of the purest heart," she said. "We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds." She paused, as if for emphasis. "Within lies untold wisdom. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." She sounded too sure of herself.

"Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift," she finished. A surge of power emanated from above, making me cringe. "The power to control the Heartless!"

 _'No! Riku, don't take it!'_

The power swelled, then crashed. Another rustle, and then a quiet, "Soon, Kairi. Soon."

Dread filled me. Even if Riku didn't want my help, I knew I had to stop him from falling into the darkness. I knew that Sora wouldn't want that - and if Kairi were anything like them, she wouldn't want it, either.

I descended the ladder carefully and searched for another way out - a second ladder at the other end of the hold brought me up into a hallway. I found my cabin not too long after that. Chester once again seemed happy to see me; he practically leapt into my arms when I walked in. I laughed and cuddled him, moving to sit carefully on the hammock.

"Chester, you will not believe what I've been through today," I told him, just as a knock sounded on my door. I jerked, startled, earning a disgruntled look from Chester. "Uh, come in."

To my surprise, Smee opened the door. He waddled in, holding a basket with a red cloth inside. "I-I brought you some f-food! A-and I prepared a b-bath for you, in another cabin, I heard that you g-got swallowed by the whale..."

I set Chester down beside me and stood to take the basket from him. I gave him my most winning smile. "Thank you so much. I'll go take a bath soon. I feel gross."

His face flushed, and he excused himself, stuttering the whole way. I turned my attention to the basket, turning the cloth aside to reveal two sandwiches and an apple nestled gently in the fabric. Confident that a few minutes wouldn't ruin them, I folded the cloth back over and set the basket gently on the floor.

"I'm going to go bathe, Chester. Want to come find it with me?" He hopped off the hammock excitedly and crawled up my leg, ending up on my shoulder. I left the room to search for the cabin that Smee spoke of. When I turned down the next hallway, I nearly ran into Riku, causing Chester to fall off my shoulder.

Riku stared at Chester, but didn't even look at me. He seemed to be thinking about something. When I opened my mouth to speak, though, Riku turned around and walked away. I thought about chasing him, but then the tears came back, and I thought better of it. I forced the tears away and resumed my search for the bath, finding it quickly in my anger. Chester managed to get through the door just before I shut it.

The room was steamy from the tub of hot water. I locked the door behind me and untied my jacket from my waist, which was slightly sticky in places. I dropped it on the floor, grossed out. The bag around my thigh came off next, and I set it carefully in a corner. I wasn't sure how the leather would react to soap and water, and I didn't want to ruin my spellbook inside.

I piled the rest of my clothes on the floor next to my jacket. The tank top proved difficult to remove - the liquid that dripped on me in Monstro had seeped into the fabric, and it was practically glued to my skin. I fought the urge to throw up as I forced it off and over my head, the smell strong in my nose. Chester sniffed at the pile and recoiled, scratching at it in distaste.

"Don't you rip up my clothes," I scolded him, stepping into the hot tub gingerly. "I'll wash them in a minute, don't worry."

I spent much longer than usual cleaning myself off - I felt as if I couldn't properly get clean in the tub. I kept my hair out of the water, deciding instead to wait until we got back to Hollow Bastion, or until I had fresh water.

I talked to Chester while I bathed, partially to keep myself from thinking about Riku. I told him how gross it was to be inside a whale. I told him about little Pinocchio, who just wanted to play, and his father who seemed to love him so much.

"You know, I bet my dad wouldn't care like he did," I mused. I thought about it a little more. "Although... I miss them," I confessed, setting my chin on the side of the tub to look at Chester. He sat with his head cocked to the side like a dog.

"I mean, it's not like he ever showed emotions near me," I continued, "but he's still my dad, you know? And what about my mom? I wonder what happened to them. Am I really all alone?"

I sighed and closed my eyes, my mind conjuring up an image of Kara. "I miss her the most..."

Chester's sharp claws on my arm interrupted my reverie. I opened my eyes to see him propped up on the tub, staring at me. I smiled and patted his head.

"No, I'm not alone, not as long as I have you, huh?"

I scratched his head for a few moments, then pulled myself out of the tub. I recalled the spell to heat the air around something - I used that to dry myself off, and then set about cleaning my clothes.

The shirt came first, being the dirtiest of the group. It felt like sludge in my hands when I submerged it, causing me to gag. After what felt like hours, it was clean, and I set it aside to clean the rest of the clothes. The jacket was the second-dirtiest, but the denim seemed to repel most of the goo and cleaned fairly easily.

I dried my clothes with the spell and put everything back on, looking forward to returning to Hollow Bastion to get a fresh set of clothes. I decided to pay the good captain a visit to ask just how long it would take us to get there. I finished strapping on my bag and tied my jacket around my waist, then beckoned Chester to get on my shoulder. When he was settled, I left the room and made my way to the captain's cabin.

Captain Hook, however, was nowhere to be found. His cabin was empty, save for an empty lantern that glowed even without a candle. I stepped closer to get a better look, and nearly screamed when the lantern shook.

A small golden thing was hovering inside the lantern. As I looked closer, I realized that the gold light was actually a glow, and that it was coming from a very tiny girl in a green dress and dainty wings.

"Are you a fairy?" I asked it. The lantern shook vigorously, and the thing inside looked angry. I felt bad for it. "Did Hook put you in there? Here, I'll let you out." I held the lantern still with one hand and popped the latch with the other. The fairy barreled out of the lantern, then hovered near my face with her arms crossed. I let the lantern hang and looked at her. "Well, what are you hanging around for? If he catches you, he'll just lock you back up. Go on, go!" I waved my hand at her, and she fluttered off through an open window.

When she was gone, I resumed my search for Captain Hook. Considering his absence here, I assumed he was on deck, steering the ship. I made my way outside, pausing to admire stardust before I made the ascent to the wheel.

Hook stood by the wheel, humming to himself happily. He scowled when I approached.

"What do ye want, brat?"

I thought of something I could say, but held my tongue. "I just wanted to know about how long it'll take to get back to Hollow Bastion."

"We'll get there when we get there!" He waved his hook at me threateningly. "Now get out of me sight, and don't ask again!"

I suppressed a frown and turned back, descending the stairs quickly. Chester dug his claws into my shoulder to prevent him falling off. When I was safely inside the ship again, I let go.

"Can you believe him? Jeez, would it kill him to be polite for once? I mean, really, Chester. Why is he so rude? It's not like I've helped him this whole time or anything -" I was cut off when Riku turned the corner. My words caught in my throat - I realized that what I had been saying about Hook could have been said about him.

Chester's claws tightened on my shoulder at the sudden tension in the air. Riku turned around and walked back the way he came. I frowned at him, thinking that he was really good at running away from his problems.

My mood soured yet again, I made my way back to my cabin. The basket of food sat beside the hammock, which I had forgotten about.

"Oh, are you hungry, Chester? Here, I'll share a sandwich with you." I pulled him off of my shoulder, finally noticing that his most recent clawing had managed to draw blood. I sighed and wiped it off with the blanket - I figured that the blankets were dirty enough that a little blood wouldn't hurt. I sat carefully in the hammock and pulled out the sandwiches, sharing them slowly with Chester. They were simple, but filling, and the apple made the amount of food just right.

I stretched out in the hammock and laid my hand on Chester's head, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think.


End file.
